During the spring of my senior year in college, the film “About Last Night,” starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, was previewed on campus before its July 4, 1986 release. The two had costarred in “St. Elmo’s Fire” the year before. Based on the David Mamet play,
Sexual Perversity in Chicago, newspapers refused to advertise the film unless the title was changed. According to a
Washington Post article, Bill Murray was originally considered for the Jim Belushi part with Nick Nolte as the lead.
Filmmakers wanted Murray to play the lead and Nick Nolte was also being considered for a supporting part. That was a recipe for disaster. “Negotiations with Murray apparently broke down after a disastrous meeting between Murray and Nolte in New York,” [author Robert] Schnakenberg writes.
It’s a good thing the meeting was disastrous; Lowe and Moore display perfect chemistry as a young couple who hook up for a one-night stand that unexpectedly transforms into a relationship despite the interference of their best friends (Jim Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins). Others who tested for Moore’s part included Mariel Hemingway, Melissa Gilbert (“My girlfriend at the time,” Lowe later recalled. “That would have been too complicated!”), Diane Lane, and Phoebe Cates. Director Edward Zwick said that when he and his wife watched the tests, it was very clear that the standout was Moore. David Caruso unsuccessfully tested for the Belushi role, and Dana Delaney for the part that ultimately went to Perkins (her first movie).
The best comedy is the kind that deals with issues by viewing both perspectives, allowing the audience to see that rarely are problems/solutions one-sided. On the male side, Lowe and Belushi are best friends and coworkers. Lowe plays Danny, the young man who is too handsome for his own good. “The best thing that could happen to you is an industrial accident,” Belushi’s character, Bernie, tells him. Bernie is your basic stereotypical neanderthal male who encourages Danny to drink and sleep around, treating women with as little respect as possible. Thanks to Lowe’s acting chops, you can see early on that Danny doesn’t necessarily agree with this, but goes along with Bernie’s coaching because that’s what guys do.
BEWARE - PLOT SPOILERS!
Debbie (Moore) and Joan (Perkins) are their female equivalent. Debbie can have whoever she wants versus Joan, the best friend, who is a hopeless romantic with a thick covering of man-hating bitterness as her armor from previously getting hurt too many times.
Early on, there is much promise for the couple to succeed, as Debbie encourages Danny’s dreams, while Danny is clearly over the moon about spending time with Debbie. She is the one girl who might finally break his pattern of meaningless one-night stands because she can see right through it and get to the core of what he is about…and still accept him.
The film gives an honest look at how the different “languages” between the sexes can cause serious problems if they fail to openly communicate. After their second “date,” Debbie and Danny are in bed, enjoying the bliss of their sexual encounter. Looking for some validation and unsure if Debbie “finished,” he indirectly asks her. “Yeah…couldn’t you tell?” she says gleefully, sensing that she has the upper hand due to his insecurity. “Girls sometimes, well…with guys, you know,” he responds haltingly. “We figure we’ll just keep you in the dark, and that way maybe you’ll work a little harder,” Debbie confesses. “All these secrets,” replies Danny, laughing. Keeping up the ribbing, Debbie continues. “It’s a conspiracy, just to throw you off balance. You want to know something else? We went out with older guys in high school just to make you jealous.” “You must hate us, as a race, don’t you?” “Yes, we do,” she teases. “Tell me one,” Debbie says, wanting to continue the playful banter. Danny shuts it down with, “I don’t have any secrets. What you see is what you get.” Not knowing what to say, Debbie simple exhales. As the two enjoy the bliss of their young romance, the fun continues.
After a few months, Danny offers a drawer in his apartment to Debbie. “A whole drawer? I don’t know, Dan, that’s a pretty big step,” she says, ribbing him for this small step towards commitment. As a result, the two decide to move in together. When Debbie tells Joan the news, she responds angrily with, “I give you two months.” The move-in has the typical comic montage to show their merging as well as the displeasure of their best friends. Shortly after the move-in, an ex-flame of Danny’s calls for a rendezvous. Not wanting to get into an argument or confess to his past promiscuous life, Danny covers and tells Debbie that the call was his mom. “Mom disappointed you won’t be sleeping with her anymore?” The banter has become more pointed but the two are still able to talk and smooth things over, although Debbie is obviously not happy about his past and Danny’s attempt to hide it from her, as she fears more dishonesty could be lurking around the corner. “It’s ok, I guess I’ll just have to get used it.” Clearly, it is not ok. Meanwhile, Danny’s friend Bernie attempts to break the couple up by introducing him to Carmen, a sexy coworker. “Did you see the look she just gave you?” Bernie says, taunting his buddy. “You can just tell she’s not wearing underpants.” As the friends continue to chip away at the couple, feeding their insecurities, Debbie and Danny play right into it. As Debbie cleans up after a Thanksgiving meal while the boys watch football, she announces to Joan, “It’s official. I’ve become my mother.” “Does he help at all?” Joan asks, knowing full well what the answer is. “Hardly,” replies a tired but resigned Debbie. She has lost her joy about the relationship but has resigned herself to this type of life, as this is what she witnessed between her parents.
As you can imagine, the two end up having a bitter break up, but not before Debbie confronts Danny, asking him to finally tell her the truth about why he gave up on their relationship. As the two sit in their dark apartment after a rotten New Year’s Eve party, she turns on a lamp. “I think we’ve been in the dark long enough. I know why I’m leaving, what’s your story? What killed it for you? The radical change in your lifestyle, decided you want to travel light? Or is it that you were just afraid that somebody better might come along and you’d be stuck with me?” Danny’s buttons have been pushed and he shouts out, “Why can’t you just see this for what it is? Nothing more, nothing less.” “Two people committed to screwing until they get sick of each other? That’s so great…that’s so special,” she replies with tears.
The two are miserable without each other, but do their best to move on. Danny ends up pursuing his career dream of opening a diner and Debbie begins to date again, but with the knowledge that she needs to be more up front about what she wants, rather than expect changes to magically happen from a partner without the communication. As fate would have it, Joan and Bernie run into each other at the local watering hole. The bartender offers them a drink with a toast to Debbie and Danny. Neither can go along with the toast, and instead continue the insults. “Well, they’re better off anyway.” “F-ing A,” replies Joan. “She’s happy right?” asks Bernie. “Ecastatic.” “So is he,” lies Bernie. “I bet she starts banging her boss again,” he taunts. “I bet he catches a disease,” Joan jabs right back. We clearly see that while the two are supposedly loyal to their friends, the desire to have Debbie and Danny apart has more to do with their fear of being alone than whether Danny and Debbie are compatible or not.
The ending gives a hopeful but still open-to-interpretation conclusion; it doesn’t try to wrap everything up in a neat bundle in time for the audience to go home happy. Instead, Debbie and Danny thoughtfully admit to the part each played in the undoing of their relationship without any finger pointing or blame. It feels somewhat healthy as if the two might be able to start fresh again without unrealistic expectations of each other. This scene between Lowe and Moore is their best. You can feel the connection, pain, and love between the two, just by watching their faces.
It was interesting to see the film in its semi-final state, and while I don’t recall any major changes or edits between the two versions, I do remember the soundtrack had yet to be finished . The song “These Dreams” by Heart was used as the love theme, while the final release used “Living Inside My Heart” by Bob Seger. If I had to guess why, it was most likely to give the movie a broader appeal to both men and women as opposed to being classified as a “chick flick.”
Film critic Roger Ebert of the
Chicago Sun-Times gave it 4 out of 4 stars:
Lowe and Moore, members of Hollywood’s “Brat Pack,” are survivors of last summer’s awful movie about yuppie singles, “St. Elmo’s Fire.” This is the movie “St. Elmo’s Fire” should have been. Last summer’s movie made them look stupid and shallow. “About Last Night…” gives them the best acting opportunities either one has ever had, and they make the most of them. Moore is especially impressive. There isn’t a romantic note she isn’t required to play in this movie, and she plays them all flawlessly. Belushi and Perkins are good, too, making us realize how often the movies pretend that lovers live in a vacuum. When a big new relationship comes into your life, it requires an adjustment of all the other relationships, and a certain amount of discomfort and pain.…The screenplay by Tim Kazurinsky and Denise DeClue smooths out Mamet’s more episodic structure, and adds three-dimensional realism. It’s a wonderful writing job, and Edward Zwick, directing a feature for the first time, shows a sure touch. His narrative spans an entire year, and the interest never lags.…“About Last Night…” is a warmhearted and intelligent love story, and one of the year’s best movies.
See more “About Last Night” photos at my
main website.
