Last Detail
Sometimes with a movie (especially one considered a âclassicâ) the individual parts (performances, writing, cinematography) of said movie can actually be thought of as being even greater than the entire whole of the film itself. This usually happens due to a misstep on the directorâs part, given a script and story with certain thematic elements that wind up being changed by that same director due to his own particular ideas about the material. That is certainly what happened here in 1973 with this comedy / drama about the drudgeries of Navy life, as first off it must be said that this film contains what is easily one of the best performances of Jack Nicholsonâs legendary career, with certain scenes and moments easily being qualified as some of the best acting he has ever done. Working from a bestselling antiwar (or rather antimilitary) novel and a superbly crafted script by no less a renowned writer than Robert Towne (whose original draft completed in 1971 contained so much profanity that the studio suggested that he tone it down, but by 1973 when profanity was more common in movies it was able to be filmed as is, thus setting new records and benchmarks at that time for use of the F word in movies), it was in the hands of one Hal Ashby, long considered an incredibly underrated director of the era even as many of his best films can also be thought of as problematic at best. It was Ashby who made the key decision about the ending of both the book and Towneâs screenplay (the three main characters who are sick of the rigid nature of military life decide to go AWOL and head for Canada) which was the obvious and rightful ending that the story was headed towards anyway and change it to something that not only was what he found to be more realistic, but also more downbeat and depressing and one which had rendered the entire story before it to be pointless. That being said, much of the film makes good on its premise for most of its running time and easily still stands as being one of the best pure male bonding movies in history, with Nicholson (just beginning his titanic run as an acting legend here and picking up a Best Actor Oscar Nomination in the process) actually standing shoulder to shoulder with his two co stars in delivering a mostly fun tale complete with amazing lived in chemistry amongst the three leads. Nicholson plays a Navy âliferâ named Buddusky (nicknamed âBad Assâ) who along with a fellow merchant seaman named Mulhall (âMuleâ) played by Otis Young (an African American actor who was barely known for any other work in his career otherwise but here in this time and place stands fully toe to toe with Nicholson as a complete and obvious equal) are assigned to transport to The Naval Brig in Portsmouth, NH, a big, dumb, goofy looking kid named Meadows (Randy Quaid, on the cusp of his major acting career even as here he would pick up his only Oscar Nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor). Meadows is said to be a high priority prisoner and Buddusky and Mulhall are told to take him to the brig where he will serve an eight year sentence followed by a dishonorable discharge. His crime? He was caught stealing a mere 40 bucks from a charitable donation box, a crime (and sentence) that leaves the two lifers incredulous until itâs explained to them that this case is of high interest to the âold manâ (The Admiral) because the charity money is mostly raised by The Admiralâs wife for whom this kind of work is a big deal to, thus showing that Meadowsâ inflated sentence is not necessarily based on what he stole, but who he stole it from instead. Buddusky and Mulhall laugh it off as the kid just being a fuck up and happily begin the transport, but upon Meadows openly talking about suicide and always seeming like heâs about to bust out crying, the two older men not only develop a more softening attitude, but also a growing bitterness that the military system would actually and deliberately take this kidâs entire life away from him for what is an admittedly stupid mistake just like it was carrying out any other type of orders even if the kid does obviously have kleptomaniac tendencies and a compulsion to steal. The solution of course, is to take the kid out and give him the time of his life with stops in Washington D.C., New York City and Boston along the way and this is where the lifeblood of the film truly gets flowing as the threesome proceed to get drunk, (VERY drunk, VERY often) hitting all of the best bars, stumble into a New Age religious group meeting, get invited to a party where they grow weary of the radical hippie male trying to impress all the girls whom they like, and finally crash land at a Boston whorehouse where no prizes are awarded for guessing what they have Quaid do for his first time. These (mis)adventures also allow us to see cameoing in early acting roles such names as Gilda Radner, Nancy Allen and Carol Kane. All throughout the constant is the focus on Quaidâs character and his basic outlook on life as Nicholson fears at first that he doesnât even care about the eight years of his life that heâs going to lose, then realizes that Quaid is really just so passive that he has hardly ever gotten angry or pissed off about anything including being angry at those who have handed this fate down to him. Indeed, one of the more touching bits is when a girl at the party (whom he has told the truth to) becomes so indignant that she actually offers to help Quaid escape THAT VERY NIGHT, he refuses, telling her that he wonât because Buddusky and Mulhall are âhis best friendsâ and that he knows that getting away from them will probably land them in even bigger trouble than heâs in, with Quaid being so touchingly sincere about feeling that way that we believe him too. That still doesnât change the fact that his unfair imprisonment is the result of military politics and procedure than of any larger issue, but it becomes clear that the closer and closer they come to Portsmouth, the harder and harder it is becoming for Mulhall (who tries to keep a stern face) and especially Buddusky who knows that there are Marine guards in that place who will physically and mentally destroy this kid on a daily basis once they get their hands on him. And again, things seem to build to a conclusion that while obvious throughout the buildup, would still have come across as being both ballsy and daring for its time and even today, if not for a sudden about face from Nicholsonâs character (just when it seemed that he was about to crack) where he becomes just as bad (if not worse) then any other authority figure in the movie, a final turn of events that seems rightfully out of whack with everything that came before it and worse, gives the ending that much more of a âconventionalâ feel than what it was the viewer was looking forward to. And audiences at the time seemed to feel the same way, as the film notoriously bombed upon release (but still got the Oscar noms) leading to a retooled marketing campaign which emphasized the (mostly drunken) bits of humor while promoting the film this time as being a straight up comedy (which itâs not) even while the problem will always remain that as funny and entertaining as the film is, that ending completely kills whatever mood and momentum that it might have had. So extracting that awful ending from oneâs consciousness, what do we have? Well, we have Jack Nicholson in one of the most rollicking, entertaining performances of his career with plenty of opportunities for us to see âCrazy Jackâ in action along with plenty of nuanced, âdramaticâ acting from him also, well matched all the way by the little known Otis Young who serves as a fine straight man to him. We then have Randy Quaid (himself no stranger to having a âwildmanâ persona) in one of his best early roles playing a kind, gentle soul with a propensity for stealing, a propensity so profound that itâs now going to cost him a huge chunk of his life and most likely scar him forever even after that. We also get some of the funniest falling down drunk party scenes in movie history along with some of the best chemistry ever shared onscreen by three actors plus a fascinating look at the lives of Navy seamen and how they interact with each other. All of this is notwithstanding how a director could think that to go against the natural flow of the story in dictating the ending was somehow daring when in fact it all but ruined what was likely a near masterpieceâŚ
7/10