possible spoiler how do you make a funny movie use a morgue and prostitution a subject matter . leave it to screenwriter lowell ganz and babaloo mandel and who put a rollick script in the hand of director ron howard and who run with it and end up score a minor comedy classic with ` night shift . chuck lumley ( henry winkler ) be in something of a funk while he be relegate to the night shift at the morgue where he work for year and thanks to the nepotism of his bos and who have instal a nephew into chuck day shift . now chuck have to train the new man and one bill blazejowski ( michael keaton ) a real ` idea man who can not sit still and never seem to quit talk and much to the chagrin of the conservative chuck and who like to keep thing quiet and simple . when chuck befriends belinda ( shelley long ) and a neighbor in his apartment who just happen to be a prostitute and bill get wind of it and have an idea . belinda and her friend be in a dangerous business and and they could use some help and protection . night at the morgue be slow and and they have a limo at their disposal ( sure and it a hearse and but slap a sign on the door and and youre in business ) . bill convince chuck that they could make a fortune a ` love broker and work right out of the morgue . and soon chuck life will never be the same . keaton be absolutely spectacular a bill ( ` call me billy blaze ) and in whom he have create a totally off the wall and quirky and uniquely nuanced and endear character youre never go to forget . he pull out all the stop and never quits and play perfectly off of winkler reserve and cautious to a fault chuck and the perfect foil for bill . the timing between these two be right on the mark and and howard keep the pace steady and the laugh come . wisely and the story avoid any moralizing or delve into the murky water of the subject matter while after all and this be a comedy and not ` taxi driver and and howard never let it slip even close to leave the laugh track . he keep it light and funny and make sure the character be real people while there no buffoonery or slapstick here and and it keep the real humor center and at the heart of the story . shelley long and too and add a nice touch with her spin on belinda and the hooker with the heart of gold . the support cast include gina hecht ( charlotte ) and pat corley ( edward ) and bobby di cicco ( leonard ) and nita talbot ( vivian ) and clint howard ( jefferey ) and joe spinell ( manetti ) while and look closely for kevin costner a a frat boy in the party scene at the morgue . howard get high mark for make ` night shift a memorable comedy and and for keep the dynamic keaton on track to deliver one of the most singular performance of his career . this be a movie with heart and and most importantly and plenty of laugh . you will be glad you do not let this one pas you by . i rate this one positive .