1970
Directed by Bob Rafelson
I do respect and love Jack Nicholson, but is anyone else getting a little bit tired of the whole being an asshole for being an asshole's sake persona? Believe me, I have met enough of those. They're the people that act like total dicks to you and then when you ask why say "Amanda, you have to stop taking life so seriously. Some things can't be explained, like the past, and you just have to except that." Wrong form of accept, by the way. But I digress.
Okay, so Five Easy Pieces. Jack Nicholson is Bobby Dupea, a complete ass who cheats on his annoying girlfriend and says disgusting things to waitresses. He goes to see his estranged father and ends up falling for his brother's wife. Don't feel too bad for the brother, though; everyone is this movie is just awful.
Every good quality in this movie can be found somewhere else, in a better version. Do you want a great Jack Nicholson asshole performance? One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. You can even find a better version of a brother-brother-brother's girlfriend love triangle in Dan in Real Life. Yes, I said it. Skip it.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
The title refers to the name of a piano lesson book.
No, I din't take to this one either.. Yes, the 'look at me I'm a loveable rogue' fails to get to me.. I just see the objectionable asshole.
ReplyDeleteMind you, I think he sort of had a point in the restaurant.. but it wasn't the waitresses fault the place had such an inflexible menu, so don't take it out on her...
I agree with all these comments. I like Jack Nicholson, but not in this one. Kind of a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI am... disagreeing... at least to some extent.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a plot driven movie but a character study of a person who does not want to take responsibility, but flee everytime he has to commit himself. He is an ass, but somehow his "problem" come across well enough for me understand him.
I rated this considerably higher than you did.
Maybe I will give this another chance!
DeleteI thought this was pretty good. The amosphere captures a certain type of independent US cinema of the seventies. Will that prove to be the case?
ReplyDeleteJack Nicholson makes everything come alive, so when he's playing a character that's not very nice then it's going to make us shudder. I didn't think we were supposed to find him lovable in this movie. We can see that he has the charm to get his own way or that if he could take control of his life then others could love him as his sister does. But I don't think we were supposed to be cheering his outbursts like in Cuckoo's Nest.