Movie Stats:
Released 1975 (USA)
American, in English
Director – Milos Forman
Stars – Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson (plus
a lot of people I never knew were in this film, including Danny DeVito,
Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif, Vincent Schiavelli, and others; look them up on
IMDB to see who they played)
Plot Summary:
When chronic troublemaker R.P. McMurphy (Nicholson) lands in
prison yet again, he fakes insanity to get what he thinks is going to be an
easy stint in a mental institution. Once he’s been committed, he butts heads
with ice-queen Nurse Ratched (Fletcher) and befriends deaf-mute Native American
Chief Bromden (Sampson).
Warnings:
Blue language (lots of f-bombs); sexual innuendo/situations;
the kind of violence you’d expect in a mental institution; very brief male
nudity (butt only).
Bad Stuff:
Everybody always talks about how evil Nurse Ratched is, but
she didn’t seem especially evil to me until the end of the film. I spent the
whole movie expecting her to be worse than she was, which left me a little
disappointed. I suppose maybe that’s the fault of the people who talk about
this film, rather than a fault of the film itself. Ultimately, I don’t have a lot of
complaints, though. The ending was pretty depressing but I knew that going in.
Good Stuff:
The acting was really good. Nicholson was kind of meh; he
played the same character he always seems to play. But everyone else was great.
I especially enjoyed DeVito (as Martini) and Dourif (as Billy Bibbit). If I
hadn’t looked at the cast list beforehand, I might not have recognized either
of them.
I enjoyed the sweetness of Nicholson’s character. He was a
screw-up, but he was a good-hearted screw-up. He wasn’t malicious. He cared
about the other men on his ward & wanted to help them. I liked the
friendship & trust that he built with Chief. In a movie with so much
underlying sadness, it left me feeling like perhaps things weren’t so sad after
all.
The Verdict:
I expected to find this movie depressing but ultimately it
didn’t get me down like I thought it would. I wouldn’t say that it’s enjoyable
or gripping, but it’s certainly interesting. I see why many people who love
film count it amongst their favorites. It’s not one of my favorites, but it’s a
good flick nonetheless.
I give the movie 4 stars.
Another movie I watched very late at night. I too, remember being surprised at all the recognizable actors in this film. I was not so much a fan of this, mostly because Jack Nicholson is annoying in every film he is in, including this one. I also am fairly uncomfortable with Nurse Ratched--for some reason her portrayal raises my feminist hackles.
ReplyDeleteWe read this book for book group a year or so ago and I really liked it, even though it was quite uncomfortable. Chief is the narrator of the book and I love him much more than McMurphy.
Another friend was telling me that the book was really good! I would add it to my reading list but my list is already too long.
ReplyDeleteI was distracted the whole film by the realization that Christian Slater totally copied Nicholson's speaking style in the 80s/90s. I'd heard people say that before, but I never truly noticed it until now.