Checking Out (1989 film)

Checking Out
Directed by	David Leland
Written by	Joe Eszterhas
Produced by	Ben Myron Garth Thomas George Harrison Denis O'Brien
Starring	Jeff Daniels Melanie Mayron Michael Tucker Kathleen York
Cinematography	Ian Wilson
Edited by	Lee Percy
Music by	Carter Burwell
Production company	HandMade Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	October 26, 1988 (1988-10-26) (MIFED) April 21, 1989 (1989-4-21) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4-6 million
Box office	$31,000 (US) £1,200 (UK)

Checking Out is a 1988 American comedy film, directed by David Leland and starring Jeff Daniels. It tells the story of a successful airline executive in his thirties who, despite a loving family and fulfilling career, experiences an existential crisis when his best friend unexpectedly dies of a heart attack. The film satirizes 1980s suburban culture, particularly the yuppie fear of death in spite of professional, financial, and social success.

Plot

Ray Macklin and Pat Hagen are lifelong friends united over their shared love of aviation. One day, at a family barbecue, Pat unexpectedly dies in front of Ray from sudden cardiac arrest while in the middle of a dad joke: "Why don't Italians have barbecues?" Ray is one of the few people devastated by Pat’s death, which elicits mostly practical or apathetic responses from those around him: their coworkers worry about the future of the company, while Pat’s wife can only complain that his death is the result of his own poor choices, such as ignoring his health and having an affair with his secretary, Diana.

After learning from Pat's wife that he may have ignored impending signs of death, including chronic lethargy and premature erectile dysfunction, Ray becomes a full-blown hypochondriac. Meanwhile, Ray's grief is compounded when their company decides to promote him to Pat's old position as a vice president, unceremoniously moving Ray into Pat's old office. To consolidate resources, the company informs Ray's secretary, Barbara, that they're laying her off and reassigning Diana to him. Barbara becomes hostile and paranoid, believing that Ray is allowing her to be fired so he can resume Pat’s affair with Diana, a fear shared by Ray’s wife, Jenny.

Ray's cardiologist arranges for him to visit a psychologist, Dr. Duffin. After a brief session, Ray believes he's achieved a new lease on life and briefly enjoys a return to his old mindset. Two days later, Ray learns Duffin died as the result of a freak infection contracted after cutting himself shaving. The news sends Ray into another downward spiral. Though Ray's cardiologist informs him that his test results are routine and show only common Mitral valve prolapse, he spends a large sum of money on state-of-the-art home diagnostic equipment at a medical supply company.

Jenny comes to believe that Ray's increased time away from home is due to him having an affair with Diana. She attempts to initiate sex with him, only for Ray to rebuff her advances in favor of installing a hydrotherapy device in their bathtub. Their argument is interrupted by their daughter having a nightmare about a plane crash. In their children's bedroom, Jenny sees that Ray sent their son to bed attached to a high tech pulse oximeter. Believing that Ray's obsession with death is negatively impacting their family, Jenny kicks him out of the house.

Ray sleeps in his car at the office, where Barbara confronts him over his failure to secure her job. The pair's argument escalates into them having loud, public sex in the front seat of Ray's car in front of his boss. The incident is briefly forgotten when one of the company's planes has to make an emergency landing. Though there are no casualties, Ray is tasked with traveling to meet the survivors for a press conference. Boarding the plane, Ray becomes convinced that the flight is the one his daughter had dreamed about the night before and that they will crash. To forestall takeoff, Ray makes a bomb threat. The passengers panic and the plane is evacuated. Ray's boss fires him on the tarmac for his many recent failures. Ray collapses from a burst appendix.

On the operating table, Ray suffers cardiac arrest and has a near death experience in which Pat escorts him to their allotted space in the afterlife. Ray is troubled to discover Heaven, for he and Pat, is a motel in the desert populated almost exclusively by White people who attend round-the-clock A cappella poolside concerts. Pat explains that, due to their aviation connections, the pair have been assigned to Howard Hughes' version of Heaven, where there are a minimum of black people, everyone is a teetotaler, and no one enjoys swimming. Ray finally breaks down and admits his hypochondria is the manifestation of his grief over Pat's death. Pat consoles his friend and the two men admit they will miss one another.

Ray awakens in the hospital. Although he spent a week in a coma following his heart attack, his appendectomy was a success, and he has made a full recovery. Ray spontaneously remembers the punchline to Pat's joke-- Italians don't have barbecues-- "The spaghetti would fall through the grill"-- and achieves a sense of closure over his death. Ray and his family leave the hospital as Ray recalls he and Pat flying model airplanes as children.

Cast

• Jeff Daniels as Ray Macklin
• Melanie Mayron as Jenny Macklin
• Michael Tucker as Harry Lardner
• Kathleen York as Diana
• Ann Magnuson as Connie Hagen
• Allan Havey as Pat Hagen
• Jo Harvey Allen as Barbara
• Ian Wolfe as Mr. D'Amato
• Billy Beck as Father Carmody
• Trudy Dochterman as Val (as Trudi Dochtermann)
• John Durbin as Spencer Gillinger
• Adelle Lutz as Dr. Helmsley
• Felton Perry as Dr. Duffin
• Allan Rich as Dr. Haskell
• Danton Stone as Dr. Wolfe

Reception

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

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."

Home media

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.

External links

• Checking Out at IMDb
• Checking Out at Rotten Tomatoes