De Niro dances. Held up at a cash point by two kids, guttersnipe attorney Harry Fabian (ol’ Bobby) punches in his PIN. He’s $300 overdrawn, the muggers leave empty handed and De Niro spins a little victory twirl as Wooly Bully plays on the soundtrack.
Christopher Walken could’ve made it work. De Niro looks – as he often does in his bad movie choices – slightly dodgy. And that pretty much sums up Irwin Winkler’s forgotten and/or forgettable update of a far-from-classic 1950 noir, with De Niro’s Soho hobo branching out into boxing promoting only to discover he’s got the reverse Midas Touch: everything he paws turns to complete and utter shite. Jessica Lange simmers as a sultry barmaid (“I’ll bring you home baby”) but the movie’s portrait of a schmuck without luck falls flat as De Niro grimaces, mugs and ultimately embarrasses himself. Like one of Harry’s suits, Night And The City looks slept in – and it’s too cheap to come with extras.
DVD Extras: Trailer.
