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The Last Detail (1973)

Rate: 9
Viewed: 11/14, 8/21

LastD
11/14: Two years after directing the über cult classic Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby worked on The Last Detail which is probably one of the most unusual road pictures made.

It focuses on three Navy servicemen, played by Jack Nicholson, Otis Young (who sports an uncanny resemblance to O.J. Simpson), and Randy Quaid, with the first two being guards of the latter who's a prisoner en route from Norfolk, Virginia, to Portsmouth Naval Prison.

On the way, Jack's Buddusky, aka Badass, has ideas of his own and wants to make it specially memorable for the prisoner in a coming-of-age way. It's odd because why do the two men care about him? Well, dammit...Badass has feelings and wants to prove he's a human being, not a robot.

I got into it fully after the three made their stop in Washington, D.C., and it's when the film started becoming goldmine, thanks to Jack Nicholson's antics. As a result, he scored a deserving Academy Award nomination with another picked up by Randy Quaid. Robert Towne penned the screenplay and subsequently got a nomination which was the year before he did the Oscar-winning screenplay for Chinatown.

All in all, The Last Detail is an all-time military classic.

8/21: It's badass time for Jack Nicholson who makes something out of nothing during a memorable trip from Norfolk, Virginia, to Kittery, Maine, for The Last Detail.

As a result, he was rewarded with an Oscar nomination, the third of his career. The profanity-laced writing was so good that another went to Robert Towne. They paired up again for Chinatown, their best and most creative work in collaboration with Roman Polanski. Randy Quaid is unforgettable as the pathetic loser seaman, receiving the only Oscar nomination of his career.

Hijinks happen along the way because Badass can't stand being bored and must do something to enliven things. Some of the best scenes include a confrontation with the bartender for refusing his underage prisoner a drink, the three's observance of a chanting session, and the finale which sums up how depressing the naval life can be.

All in all, it takes an extraordinary actor to pull off what Jack Nicholson did in The Last Detail, a fine Hal Ashby picture.