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After Hours poster

After Hours

97 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Griffin Dunne Paul Hackett
Linda Fiorentino Kiki Bridges
Teri Garr Julie
John Heard Tom, the bartender
Dick Miller Waiter
Will Patton Horst
Robert Plunket Street pickup
Bronson Pinchot Lloyd, Paul’s coworker
Rocco Sisto Coffee-shop cashier
Larry Block Taxi driver
Victor Argo Diner cashier
Murray Moston Subway attendant
John P. Codiglia Transit cop
Clarke Evans Neighbor
Victor Bumbalo Neighbor
Bill Elverman Neighbor
Joel Jason Biker
Rand Carr Biker
Clarence Felder Bouncer
Stephen J. Lim Club Berlin bartender
Catherine Scorsese Uptown diner patron
Charles Scorsese Uptown diner patron

After Hours | The Rewatchables

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Half-Assed Internet Research

Dunne’s city experiences; budget and gross; student screenplay; producing partnership; Kafka; nightlife; locations; Powell mentorship

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:57Read transcript
  • Dunne reportedly recognized the story’s exhilarating, dangerous encounters with strangers from his own life.
  • Reported $4.5 million budget and $10.6 million gross.
  • Joseph Minion reportedly wrote the screenplay as a film-school senior thesis at 21; the later half is described as more strongly shaped by Scorsese.
  • Dunne and Amy Robinson’s production partnership and Baby It’s You brought Arquette and Ballhaus connections into After Hours.
  • Club Berlin’s doorman dialogue reportedly draws on Kafka’s Before the Law and frustrations making Last Temptation of Christ.
  • Cafe Central connected the cast and producers; Bruce Willis reportedly tended bar while famous actors socialized without paparazzi.
  • Heard’s carousing reputation worried Scorsese before the producers persuaded him; already-gentrifying Soho required Chinatown, Little Italy and Tribeca substitutions.
  • A documentary reportedly recounts Dunne and Carrie Fisher’s youthful sexual encounter as an act of friendship.
  • A reported Fiorentino/Pellicano/Rossini case is recounted; speculation that it explains her acting hiatus is explicitly only a guess.
  • Michael Powell’s mentorship reportedly helped Scorsese determine tone and ending; his own professional exile created a kinship.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:56Read transcript
  • Four stars and inclusion on the Great Movies list; the quoted review stresses comedy, satire, pressure and paranoia.

Casting What-Ifs

Burton stepped aside; Fiorentino’s audition

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:48Read transcript
  • Tim Burton reportedly stepped aside for Scorsese, then made Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
  • Fiorentino’s indifferent, intimidating audition reportedly settled a difficult Kiki casting search; Scorsese’s later praise is recalled.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:21Read transcript
  • Pee-wee’s Big Adventure offers another man-child’s strange journey toward home.
  • Into the Night is the favored NYC/LA contrast; Goodfellas, Uncut Gems, Bringing Out the Dead, Game Night and The Purge are other suggestions.

Recasting Couch

Michael Keaton preferred; Tom Hanks; alternative actors by era

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:18Read transcript
  • 1985 Hanks is proposed as Paul for stronger awkward-romance comic timing, although his lack of kookiness is questioned.
  • Keaton becomes the preferred recast for chaotic energy, while Dunne’s original performance remains loved; Guttenberg is plausible but less desired.
  • McCarthy is too young, Reinhold is floated, and alternate eras suggest Cusack circa1990, Josh Hamilton circa1996–97 and Hoffman circa2004–05.
  • Eisenberg circa2010–11 and Hader circa2013–14 are proposed; Chalamet seems too handsome and Cooper Hoffman promising but perhaps too young.

Picking Nits

Paul’s anger; easy routes home; Marcy’s suicide

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:48Read transcript
  • Paul’s sudden cruelty to Marcy is questioned, with fear of sleeping with a burn victim offered as explanation.
  • Another subway booth or simply walking home would solve Paul’s immediate problem.
  • Marcy’s suicide is puzzling; the stated overdose drug provides a Judy Garland/Wizard of Oz connection.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Word-processing job; overnight timeline; book completion; subsequent arrest

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:33Read transcript
  • What exactly does Paul’s word-processing job entail? Its office anonymity may be intentional.
  • Clock clues suggest roughly seven hours from the late-night departure to returning to the office around6:30–7:15, but the season and exact timing remain uncertain.
  • Did Paul finish Tropic of Cancer, and could police arrest him afterward? A counterargument notes he committed no wrongdoing.

Producer review

Five-star masterpiece; precise image-making and pace

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:13Read transcript
  • A five-star masterpiece and a fun shared watch, with precise image-making and exceptional pace. Jack Sanders