This film certainly has its redeeming qualities for me, but all in all, I found that this had a one-two punch of the cardinal sins of cinema.
1. It was kinda confusing.
2. It was kinda boring.
It's a film that's comprised of a few standout/memorable scenes and a trio of exceptional performances (Ellen Burstyn, Jack Nicholson, and Bruce Dern).
I don't know if it was the script that was lacking or whether the sound on my TV was bugging out, but I felt like i was missing so much exposition as to what the plot of the film was hinging on.
The way I see it, Jason works for Scatman Crothers as a land investor of some kind, but he's running fast and loose with Scatman's money or something. And Ellen Burstyn is getting sick (and going cuckoo) over becoming second fiddle to her and Jason's threesome with Jessica? I think I get it? But then again, I don't know I was confused.
I guess the film does a subpar job at establishing the characters firmly, so when they make certain decisions, I have no frame of reference as to whether that made sense or not, because they all seem to be in such flux throughout the film.
The ending shot and Ellen Burstyn's performance are standouts, but all in all this felt meandering and improvisational in ways that were frustrating and only about 60% entertaining.
6.4/10
This film certainly has its redeeming qualities for me, but all in all, I found that this had a one-two punch of the cardinal sins of cinema.
1. It was kinda confusing.
2. It was kinda boring.
It's a film that's comprised of a few standout/memorable scenes and a trio of exceptional performances (Ellen Burstyn, Jack Nicholson, and Bruce Dern).
I don't know if it was the script that was lacking or whether the sound on my TV was bugging out, but I felt like i was missing so much exposition as to what the plot of the film was hinging on.
The way I see it, Jason works for Scatman Crothers as a land investor of some kind, but he's running fast and loose with Scatman's money or something. And Ellen Burstyn is getting sick (and going cuckoo) over becoming second fiddle to her and Jason's threesome with Jessica? I think I get it? But then again, I don't know I was confused.
I guess the film does a subpar job at establishing the characters firmly, so when they make certain decisions, I have no frame of reference as to whether that made sense or not, because they all seem to be in such flux throughout the film.
The ending shot and Ellen Burstyn's performance are standouts, but all in all this felt meandering and improvisational in ways that were frustrating and only about 60% entertaining.
6.4/10
