Gene Hackman is completely winning as George Dupler, an average Joe who vents after repeatedly being passed over for promotion in his company. So he gets demoted to managing an all-night drugstore - a place with a decidedly weird clientele. He buys some trouble for himself when he pursues new acquaintance Cheryl Gibbons (Barbra Streisand), who's already been getting it on with Georges' teenage son Freddie (Dennis Quaid)!
Overall, an interesting venture for the stars that didn't really deserve to bomb so mightily in its time. It's flawed, to be sure (for one thing, it's not completely resolved to any real satisfaction), but it has a certain endearing quality. In that sense, it's much like the unconventional casting of Streisand here, who was a replacement for Lisa Eichhorn. (Supposedly, Gene and Lisa did not get along, which is one reason given why the switch was made.) But Babs is fairly likeable here, and much of the cast does fine work. "All Night Long" is just offbeat and loopy enough to be watchable, although it works better when depicting the strange folk who come out at night, rather than the romance at the centre of the plot. (The screenplay is by W.D. Richter, who more often than not has specialized in offbeat tales, like his directorial debut, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in the Eighth Dimension".)
Hackman is the main reason to watch. He's at his most engaging, playing this middle aged man dealing with the various setbacks and nuances at this stage in his life. But there's a steady parade of familiar faces in supporting and bit parts to perk things up: Kevin Dobson, William Daniels, Hamilton Camp, Ann Doran, Raleigh Bond, Tandy Cronyn, Terry Kiser, Vernee Watson, Chris Mulkey, Richard Stahl, Bonnie Bartlett, etc.
In the almost 40 years since this release, Gene and Babs have expressed negativity towards the film if they indeed acknowledged it at all. And many Streisand fans denote it as a low point in her career. But the casual movie watcher might not be so harsh, and see this for what it is: a harmless, amiable trifle.
Six out of 10.
