Midnight Run

Midnight Run has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available on Hollywood Suite. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 1,291 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Robert De Niro is the obvious draw, but the whole ensemble earns its laughs. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Hollywood Suite.

Midnight Run arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Midnight Run gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail. Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1988. Midnight Run earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Midnight Run is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Robert De Niro is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.