BEFORE: ...and from homeless drunks to drugged-up inmates in an asylum. I watched a crazy-person chain of films last month of course, most of which starred Jim Carrey, but I held this one back for the Nicholson chain. Always good to end the month with a film that won the Best Picture Oscar.
THE PLOT: Upon arrival at a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients together to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched.
AFTER: Now this felt like a really worthy classic film to me, forget that "Easy Rider" stuff...this had some weight, some heft.
I suppose the debate has raged over the years about whether McMurphy, Nicholson's character, was truly insane in the membrane, or just playing to get out of a harsher prison sentence. If that was his plan, man, did it backfire.
And boy, they really cast a bunch of actors with odd faces to play the mental patients...
The only thing that sort of spoiled this film for me is the fact that I read the MAD Magazine parody when I was a kid. Not that I consider that to be a substitute for watching the film, but I knew all the major plot points in advance. Curse you, usual gang of idiots!
When we drive up to visit my family at the holidays, we go right past a mental facility as we go over the Triborough Bridge - so I always make a joke about how my wife should drop me off there on the way back. And I'm only half-kidding. We always call the place "Creedmoor", but just last week found out that Creedmoor is in Queens Village - on the complete opposite side of Queens. I think what we're passing is really the Manhattan Psychiatric Center - where I'll end up one day at this rate.
Also starring Louise Fletcher (last seen in "Blue Steel"), Danny DeVito (last seen in "Terms of Endearment"), Christopher Lloyd (last seen in "The Dream Team" - now I get the joke), Brad Dourif (last seen in "Alien: Resurrection"), Vincent Schiavelli (last seen in "Death to Smoochy"), and Scatman Crothers (last seen in "Silver Streak").
RATING: 7 out of 10 shock treatments
JACK-O-METER: 9 out of 10. Classic Jack - fighting against the system, complaining about the hospital conditions, and punching out the staff.
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