A JACK NICHOLSON FEAST: ONE OF HIS FINEST FILMS, AND ONE OF HIS MOST ACCOMPLISHED BIOGRAPHERS.
A naive new Navy recruit (Randy Quaid), sentenced to prison after stealing 40 bucks from a charity collection box, is escorted from his base in Virginia to New Hampshire Naval Prison by two officers (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young). But in the course of their journey, the two men develop an affectionate sort of pity for their young charge, and decide to make his last week of freedom a memorable one. Written for the screen by Robert (Chinatown) Towne, and effortlessly directed by Hal Ashby, this funny, profane and sorrowful film—a combination of improvised road movie and almost homoerotic buddy-flick—features one of Nicholson’s finest-ever performances, as the manic, foul-mouthed Buddusky, who’s sickened by the rigid authoritarianism of the military to which he belongs. A must-see. The screening will be followed by a talk on the film career of Jack Nicholson by acclaimed biographer Patrick McGilligan (Jack’s Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson).