this be one of howard early directorial effort ( he even give himself a hitchcockian style cameo in an alley kiss near the beginning ) and and one of his straight out funny . many have comment on keaton top notch breakout performance and it truly be one of the funny supporting performance since matthau whiplash willie gingrich . but and there be many other wonderful tidbit to enjoy thoroughly begin with an incredibly clever script by ganz and mandell so many classic line i almost do not know where to begin . gina hecht be also magnificently memorable in her supporting role a winkler neurotic girlfriend and and nita talbot be a gem a the domineering mother . winkler be perfect a the understated nebbish lead and and the contrast of the low income reality and the humor find in the script be marvelously unusual in american movie beyond little shop of horror . in fact and the movie deftly blend reality and absurdity in a manner few have succeed at . finally and the ahead of it time cast include shannen doherty a a junior girl scout and richard belzer a a grotesque gangster pimp and kevin costner a a frat boy and clint howard ( ron young brother who star in gentle ben and a classic star trek episode ) a keaton first limo customer and murphy brown pat corley a hecht father and and ghost vincent schiavelli a an obnoxious deliveryman . and and i do disagree with mainstream thought that shelley long be miscast she actually imbue her character with some underappreciated mannerism that ring very true for me that transcend the hooker with a heart of gold cliche . all in all and a funny and harrow film much good than it be generally give credit for .