Nude Celebs: Peggy McIntaggart (Sanders) - For a time, John Landis was the preeminent director of Hollywood comedies. His flair for perfect timing coupled with sharp editing made movies like An American Werewolf in London, Animal House and Trading Places classics. Many consider Into the Night the last of the director’s great movies while others will indicate that it is the first of a long line of lousy pictures he set to task on late in his career. Regardless, it’s a benchmark of Landis’ career, one that sits alongside Martin Scorcese’s After Hours as a unique trip through the time of every day when most of us are asleep.

Jeff Goldblum plays Ed Orkin, a bland engineer with a stalled life. His wife is unfaithful to him, his friends are boring, and now he cannot sleep at night. One evening he eschews his bed for a drive through Los Angeles, ending up at LAX where his life intersects woman-on-the-run Diana (played by a very young and feisty Michelle Pfeiffer). The pair spend the remainder of the movie being hunted by a British secret agent (David Bowie) and Iranian Police, all the while crossing paths with various eccentric midnight hour types played mostly by well-known actors and directors doing cameos.

Simply put, this is a weird, weird movie, alternating between comedy and violent drama. While some will argue the unevenness of tone is an unintentional fault, it’s rather clear that Landis knew what he was doing and the movie was designed as an experiment. It bounces from place to place in truly unpredictable fashion and is a rather perfect movie to put on during your own sleepless night. Goldblum and Pfeiffer are excellent the whole way through, although their chemistry never quite clicks on a romantic level, lending even more to the “off” tone that permeates the entire picture. Do be sure to look for small roles and cameos filled bybmany directors including David Cronenberg, Jonathan Demme, Jim Henson, Paul Mazursky, Roger Vadim and Landis himself. Also starring Sue Bowser, Kathryn Harrold, and Peggy Sanders (also known as Peggy McIntaggart, the 1990 Playmate of the Year!).

• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: September 2, 2003
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• US Theatrical Release Date: February 15, 1985