For the assignment I decide to choose the move The Last Detail by Hal Ashby in December 1973. Ashby was famously known for his directing and film work throughout the new Hollywood wave. Like the movie The Last Detail he loved to do movies about outsides and their adventures navigating into society. This movie compares to my last post about Easy Riding because Jack Nicholson plays a main role in both and give notable performances. When the film was released it didn’t become a major hit off the bat, by as time passed the movie grew a strong and loyal fan base. The movie itself is about the journey of three navy sailors who are on their way to New Hampshire prison due to an eight-year sentence for stealing. The other two sailors (Buddusky and Mulhall) are assigned to escort him there in a week. However, throughout their trip they all start to build a stronger connections leading them all to interact in actives before they have to drop Larry. They had decided to construct Larry’s manhood before he got locked up since he was shy. When they see him with his mother and realize that he’s a pretty good guy they start to have difficulties trying to follow through with the orders given to them.

This first picture I selected was a poster created glamorizing the film and the actors associated. The film won four awards for best actor by Jack Nicholson and an award for best screen play by Robert Towne. I was surprised to see almost all very positive reviews discussing mainly the performance of Nicholson.  Critic Keith Uhlich states that he has a brilliantly performance that is supplemented by Quaid’s awkwardness and Young’s bracing cynicism.

This poster depicts a recognizable picture of Nicholson holding his cigar. The Quote goes on to talk about his feelings on Larry and his prison sentence.  He made it sure that Larry would have a good time and that there was no way he wasn’t going to let that happen. He knew that Larry was just a kid caught up in an unfortunate situation and given a harsh punishment by the navy.

This screenshot is I went with because this was, in my opinion, one of the funniest clips from the whole movie.  from the scene where all three of the sailor stop at the bar to grab a quick drink. When the bartended ask to see Larry’s ID, Buddusky starts to get verbal with him. He feels that the bartender should just serve them all drinks with no question. As they dispute goes on, Buddusky yells that he is the shore patrol and pulls his gun out. They all decide to leave without drinks laughing and joking about it.

In this scene from the movie the three sailor are at the diner for lunch, when Buddusky intrudes on Larry’s meal.  He insists that the cheese is not melted enough but Larry ensures him it’s alright.  He makes Larry feel like a shy unspoken person who needs to be willing to speak his mind and needs to say what he wants. Even though Larry is alright with how the meal was prepared. All in all, the server ends up taking the food back and fixing it for him, Buddusky reminds him that it is a better burger then it would have been before and he agrees.

Resources:

Criticwire Classic of the Week: Hal Ashby’s ‘The Last Detail’