This is another of Jack Nicholson's quiet character studies from the 70's. It must have been about six months since I saw this (I haven't seen it again, worse luck) but on reflection it must have affected me deeper than either "Five Easy Pieces" or "The King of Marvin Gardens". With the passage of time it has become easier to relate to the frustration of settling for a life where comradeship, beer and women are good things, but they begin to seem like the only avenues available to go down. What else is there to do but indulge fleeting pleasures when you don't feel like you have the fight left in you to reach for something bigger? Take my musing and apply it to the plot of the film. You join the Navy to see and experience the world. What's the result of that? You end up with the threat of being thrown in the clink hanging over you.
Ashby skilfully knits the episodes together so a trip that at most lasts a couple of days feels like it comprises enough bonding to fill the average lifetime of an ordinary person. Randy Quaid delivers a serious performance that meshes comfortably with that of Jack's, so if you're one of those people who thinks he can only 'do' Cousin Eddie, then let this - along with "Brokeback Mountain" - be the start of your reappraisal.
When all is said and done, what does it weigh up to? I'm not sure I can tell you; that, I have come to absorb, is I guess the whole point of watching these men drift aimlessly through their hours of freedom. All of life is spread out before them for a time, yet all they can think of to do is give it the eye instead of seizing their chance to dive in headfirst. They're dragging their young charge down with their apathy. Maybe he was wise enough to use this detail as an example of what NOT to do - although the future for the gang of three looks bleak enough to make you doubt it...
Ashby skilfully knits the episodes together so a trip that at most lasts a couple of days feels like it comprises enough bonding to fill the average lifetime of an ordinary person. Randy Quaid delivers a serious performance that meshes comfortably with that of Jack's, so if you're one of those people who thinks he can only 'do' Cousin Eddie, then let this - along with "Brokeback Mountain" - be the start of your reappraisal.
When all is said and done, what does it weigh up to? I'm not sure I can tell you; that, I have come to absorb, is I guess the whole point of watching these men drift aimlessly through their hours of freedom. All of life is spread out before them for a time, yet all they can think of to do is give it the eye instead of seizing their chance to dive in headfirst. They're dragging their young charge down with their apathy. Maybe he was wise enough to use this detail as an example of what NOT to do - although the future for the gang of three looks bleak enough to make you doubt it...