Is Night of the Juggler a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?
An ex New York cop is desperate to find his kidnapped daughter.
Trashmen Rubbish Round Table
Jimbo
My first question: Is anyone else disappointed that this wasn’t about a crazed mime or circus carnie that murders people with insane juggling skills?
Jamie
Ok so I saw Night of the Juggler as a kid on TV but remember barely anything about it aside from scruffed James Brolin searching for his daughter and a scene on a subway. I remember thinking it was a gritty, dark, crime drama / action film or so I thought. I could never find it on VHS and kind of forgot about the film as years went on so I am glad I got a chance to finally see it.
Travis
A better title would have been Day of the Jogger.
Jimbo
The movie’s title isn’t the best… The rich are “juggling the books,” Gus says. “I’m gonna juggle the books my way and it’s going to balance out for me.” They almost needed to make that the tagline to help give the title more punch or clarity. But it’s still not a strong title. Still think my murderous jester movie would make more sense.
Jamie
What I was expecting was not what I got and I was disappointed in some aspects. The storyline is rather stupid. A crazed, pissed off Italian man hates blacks, hispanics and rich people due to his apartment complex being rundown by street trash and all to the high taxes (?) so he decides to kidnap a politician’s daughter but grabs the wrong girl by mistake. What would have made the film better was to focus on this particular character and his rage against society but instead the film focuses on the kidnapped girl’s dad who just so happens to be an expressionless ex-cop who is a tough guy and just wants his kid back. This regular Joe gets his ass kicked several times (car chase/crash, pimps at a peep show, gangs, Dan Hedeya, etc.) but seems to just brush it off as if nothing happens. I expect this from a Stallone or Arnold film as I buy these big guys taking the hits but puny Brolin?
The secondary characters are fucking annoying as hell. Every time Brolin gets in a cab (twice) he meets some wacky side character played for laughs. In fact, almost every side-character plays like they were straight out of a Michael Bay film where they are meant to be funny and relieve the tension. It’s awful. All they needed was to add a wise-cracking kid.
Dan Hedeya…yeah…ok so I love / hate his scenes. It’s hilariously over the top and he looks like Kramer from Seinfeld going apeshit but it’s so stupid and ridiculous that this police chief just suddenly flips his shit as soon as he sees Brolin because of a past he has with him. Running down the street shooting away with a shotgun? I think a 13 year old boy wrote this movie, it’s pretty dumb.
Travis
Jamie pointed out a lot of the reasons I disliked this. I would have been much happier if this focused on the gritty environment of old NYC and threw all the other nonsense overboard. Some of the comedy was so broad I expected to hear slide whistle noises after some pathetic excuse for jokes.
Jimbo
I’m actually surprised by the harsh criticism in the room. I was confident that all of the zickness from the cast would have put this over the top as a crowd pleaser with this group. Surely I wasn’t the only one who laughed in the opening scene when Gus (Cliff Gorman) dumps ketchup on his untouched breakfast and furiously slams the ketchup bottle upside down on the plate.
Travis
Oh, he slammed the ketchup bottle down good!
Jamie
I did not laugh at the opening. I remember Travis saying something like “that was a weird beginning”. I thought he just put the ketchup bottle on top of his plate. I don’t remember him slamming it upside down. Someone should have slammed the screenwriters head upside down.
Travis
I’ll give it credit for one thing, and that is its blunt handling of race. Not only is the villain dropping slurs, the overly comedic side characters seem obsessed with race as well and say things that might give modern audiences the vapors. Too bad it’s all done for laughs (intentional and unintentional). Which fits with the overall uneven tone of Juggler. You’d think child kidnapping and NYC jack shacks would be serious business, but instead it is undercut from all directions with the comedy and awful acting and dialogue. And it doesn’t help that this features an inept Puerto Rican gang which is completely thwarted by Brolin who looks like he is ready to get copacetic at an Eagles concert. It’s so dumb it was making me angry and wishing someone would put a blade into Brolin’s guts.
Jimbo
I think the film does a very good job of balancing between the characters of Sean (Brolin) and Gus. Sure Sean, the ex-cop turned trucker, is set up as the protagonist, but that’s natural because his daughter has just been kidnapped. Gus, the “juggler”, is clearly our antagonist but I think he’s developed perfectly. And I think spending more time with him risks making him too evil or too good. As his character stands, you sympathize with him just enough because he’s hit rock bottom and he’s lashing out at everyone and everything. As the movie progresses he begins to develop feelings for Sean’s daughter. It’s a pervy kind of affection, but it does showcase that this unhinged lunatic is capable of loving another human being. And while this is all transpiring, you’re reminded that he’s still the antagonist because he’s willing to kidnap a child for personal gain.
Jamie
I found Gus (Gus jerks) to be a more developed character than Sean. James Brolin was frankly dull and his character was rather plain. The movie didn’t give him a chance to have any moments about his lost daughter or fear that she may be raped or killed. Maybe the only moment where he showed any fear or frustration was when he and his ex-wife have an argument about what has happened and why he wouldn’t let her move to CT. I liked the little moments of Gus killing a potential rapist to protect the girl or showing him play with his dog, giving him some humanity.
Travis
I wonder if there is a flipside to the Stockholm Syndrome, where the kidnapper now identifies with the kidnapee? That’s the only things that made sense as he decides to start making out with the daughter. It was pretty zik, but I guess that’s expected with this movie.
Jimbo
I really like the mistaken identity aspect of the kidnapping. It does a couple things. It allows the story to have an “every man” become the protagonist instead of having some “rich white guy” (Mel Gibson in Ransom) take on the kidnapper. But it also gives Sean more roadblocks. The detectives working the kidnapping are late to assist because they’re chasing the wrong leads. So Sean is forced to deal with it himself. And because Sean is the “every man” I don’t have any problems with him getting his ass kicked and moving forward. As a parent, I could easily see myself doing everything he does to get to one or both of my kids. The system be damned! If you’re not going to help save my kid? I’ll plow right through you…
Nor will I dispute Travis’s description of the street gangs. But I don’t exactly criticize The Warriors for being less than realistic with the depiction of a New York gangs. So if the gang is treated like another minor roadblock in between scenes of more running and high-speed car chases, I’m good.
Jamie
The street gang in Adventures in Babysitting was more realistic.
Jimbo
I think I’m also drawn to the nostalgia of the time and kind of filmmaking. I kept thinking, “they don’t make movies like this anymore”. And that includes the movie’s warts and all. There’s a couple of shots where the boom mic dips into view. Today they just digitally remove that stuff. Night of the Juggler feels gritty, fast paced, and imperfect. But that lack of polish is kinda what I like about it.
Jamie
Now I did like a few things. The cast is pretty good and loved seeing the character actors popping up all over the place. I especially loved the grimy peepshow sequence with none other than the Taming of Rebecca‘s Sharon Mitchel. This scene had nudity, violence, and was just seedy which is what this film lacked and really needed.
Jimbo
Side and supporting characters: Jamie doesn’t like stage and screen legend Mandy Patinkin (the cab driver)?
Jamie
I prefer Mandy Patinkin in Alien Nation.
Jimbo
I’m perfectly fine with some goofy side characters. Again, from a structural standpoint it helps to bring some lightness and levity to the movie. If it was completely a dower during the entire film, I wouldn’t want to re-watch it.
I will concede that some of the movie goes over the top. A bug-eyed Dan Hedeya going ape-shit with a shotgun in downtown New York comes to mind. It doesn’t seem logical that a police Sargent would open fire in an area crowded with bystanders. Then again, it late 70s/early 80s New York and that kinda thing happened all the time, right?
Jamie
Well, given the director quit halfway thru the making of the film, I wonder if the film’s tone shifted and that’s why I think it may be a disjointed mess. It tries too hard to be funny and just comes off as annoying. I am fine with the movie taking a few light hearted moments but this was just over the top and frankly, not funny. I laughed more at Dan Hedeya losing his marbles for no reason.
Travis
Ok, now bear with me on this, but I couldn’t help but think that the finale hints at the 80s Arnold classic, Commando. Think about it. Kidnapped daughters, they both kind of wear the same silly overalls, both movies have Dan Hedeya, the hero has an ethnic piece of ass that helps him out along the way, both bare fisted finales take place in a similar underground/steam room setting, and the bad guy also lets out a completely bonkers scream as he launches his attack. Not saying Commando is a remake, just some very odd similarities. Obviously Commando is eminently re-watchable, while Night of the Juggler is mostly forgettable for its regrettable choices.
Jamie
The opening car chase was very good and while the film was ridiculous, I was never bored with it. It has some decent action and kept me entertained so I didn’t hate it. It had it’s moments. However this should have been better. The movie had the right ingredients but the recipe was all wrong.
Jimbo
I guess the criticisms are valid, but I still had more fun with the movie than the rest of you. I’d buy the blu-ray if anyone releases it.
Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?
Jamie, Jimbo and Travis says: One’s Trash is Another’s Treasure
| Jamie: |  (2.5 / 5) |
| Jimbo: |  (3.5 / 5) |
| Travis: |  (1.0 / 5) |
| Average: |  (2.3 / 5) |
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