He’s still got it.
Night Shift arrived on Home Video this week in 1983, after a July 30th, 1982 theatrical release.
If you happened to be loitering in the aisles of your local video store in 1983 and stumbled across Night Shift, you’d probably think, “Richie Cunningham directed this? Little Opie, Really?” Yes, before he made a Splash and became a Hollywood heavyweight, Howard parlayed his years in the biz (and some Corman training on GTA) to make his big studio debut with this R-rated screwball comedy starring Henry Winkler, a young Michael Keaton and Shelley Long.
To be fair, Ron Howard deserves a lot of credit here. He takes a story about pimps, morgues, and hoochie late-night shenanigans and somehow makes it… endearing? Correctamundo. It’s a strange mix of grit and warmth, like a Manhattan cocktail served in a dirty glass with a little pink umbrella.
Night Shift might be one of those movies you’d grab when your first picks were already rented. But then you’d get it home, laugh a little harder than expected, and wonder why you sat on it. To this day, it’s a treasure hiding in plain sight – scrappy, funny, and surprisingly charming. Imagine that.