One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I watched this with my seniors, which is a funny context to watch it in cuz I am definitely Nurse Ratched presiding over my room of crazy people (I'm mostly kidding, they are my favorite). With that said, after watching, I was kinda shocked at the mainstream response to this movie. Essentially Jack Nicholson is an asshole who gets committed to a mental institution because he can't help but cause trouble outside. While committed, he helps fight off the oppressive regime of Nurse Ratched and others by liberating his fellow patients.

Or at least that's what people say! But I thought Nicholson was a completely hateable character and I couldn't cheer for him at all. Rule 1 for writing a likeable character now that I guess didn't apply in the 70s: don't make your character a convicted rapist! But even aside from that, I just thought he was so petulant, and while the institution was maybe a little restrictive, they were just doing their best with their resources! As a lover of order and peace, I mostly sided with the character that many call one of the most classic villains of all time. Yeah! Give Jack shock treatment! Lock him up! He's terrible!

Anyways, I'm actually not sure if that's what the message of the movie was, and I'm not sure we were supposed to take clear sides. Because aside from this, I loved the movie. I loved all of the patients, and as someone who has spent his fair share of time in psyc wards and rest homes, I really loved and respected the performances of a lot of these actors. Danny DeVito and Sydney Lassick were endearing, and while the best performance might have been Brad Dourif, his scenes just took way too long. I think most would agree that Will Sampson as chief was the most likeable. Wish he could have spent more time developing that post game on the court.

So anyways, I really did like this movie, but maybe not for the reasons other people do. I also just get this very weird vibe from Nicholson. Is that guy acting? I feel like he must be this asshole in real life, right? There is something dark and sinister about his aura. Can someone do one of those astrology things for me?

But yeah, good, classic 70s movie that's very much worth watching today.

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