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Checking Out (1989 film)

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Checking Out
Directed byDavid Leland
Written byJoe Eszterhas
Produced byBen Myron
Garth Thomas
George Harrison
Denis O'Brien
Starring
CinematographyIan Wilson
Edited byLee Percy
Music byCarter Burwell
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • October 26, 1988 (1988-10-26) (MIFED)
  • April 21, 1989 (1989-04-21) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4-6 million[1]
Box office$31,000 (US)[2]
£1,200 (UK)[3]

Checking Out is a 1988 American comedy film, directed by David Leland and starring Jeff Daniels.[4]

Plot

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Ray Macklin is obsessed with his own mortality. When a close friend suddenly dies of a heart attack at a barbecue, Ray becomes convinced that every ache, pain and twinge he experiences is a sign of his own impending death. His unjustified fears lead him into ever more extensive hypochondria.

Cast

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Reception

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On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 20% based on reviews from 5 critics.[5]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two out of four, and wrote: "The problem with Checking Out is that it provides us with fears we can understand and responses that seem to have been phoned in from a sitcom."[6]

Home media

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MGM released a full screen DVD in 2003. Image Entertainment released a new DVD of the film, as well as a Blu-ray of the film on January 18, 2011.

References

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  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog".
  2. ^ Checking Out at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 20.
  4. ^ James, Caryn (April 21, 1989). "Checking Out (1989) Review/Film; Hoping to Stay Alive To Hear Life's Punch Line". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "Checking Out (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger (May 5, 1989). "Checking Out". Chicago Sun-Times – via RogerEbert.com.
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