moonspinner55 Jack Nicholson plays the host of a radio talk-show program in Philadelphia who is reunited with Bruce Dern, his ne'er-do-well older brother, also a hustler and promoter for black gangsters, after Dern's been jailed in Atlantic City. Meeting Nicholson at the train station is Dern's aging mistress Ellen Burstyn, who is traveling with her comely stepdaughter. A dramatic acting exercise for the three stars is a cautious, interesting effort--but not an exciting one. Producer-director Bob Rafelson, who also originated the story with credited screenwriter Jacob Brackman, aligns all his shots with an artistically jaundiced eye but intentionally shows no heart. He and Brackman are careful to give their principal characters a fully-rounded background (we perceive that each of them has been through a hellish lot), and yet this story of family and unreachable dreams is sluggish and morose, filmed in wintry washed-out color by cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs. Some viewers are intellectually stimulated by Brackman's literate dialogue, and yet the film has been drained almost entirely of humor, so that Nicholson's nebbish (a man we might possibly connect with) merely seems a submissive malcontent, careful with his words but robotic and aloof. ** from ****

Hitchcoc For weeks I saw ads for this film, but because I didn't live in an area around art theaters, I didn't get to see it on its feature run. Finally, it showed up on Arts and Entertainment and I saw the commercially chopped up film. It is really quite a good movie, with a young Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern at the center of it. It involves a get rich quick scheme from some pretty shady characters with mob connections. This is all about performances, especially that of Dern. He has played some great characters over the years. Usually, they are quirky and often threatening. He is an idiosyncratic actor with that unique way of speaking. Nicholson is more of a straight man her, but the chemistry they create on the screen is excellent. Ellen Burstyn, who was really a hot commodity at this time also puts in a very sound performance. This was a bit under-appreciated, probably because the stars were just getting rolling.

SnoopyStyle David Staebler (Jack Nicholson) is a Philly talk radio DJ taking care of his grandfather. He goes to Atlantic City to find his black-sheep brother Jason (Bruce Dern) in jail. Monopoly originated from Atlantic City and Marvin Gardens is the property right before Go To Jail. Jason tells David to find Lewis to set off a mercurial scheme to get a gambling license with Japanese investors. Jason has an even bigger plan to live big in Hawaii. Sally (Ellen Burstyn) is Jason's girlfriend and Jessica (Julia Anne Robinson) wants to be a pageant queen.I would like this movie so much more if I understood the proper plan and what Jason is trying to do with his scheme. Jason is so weaselly that he never really explains what's going on. On the other hand, that's what so real about Jason. He's no mastermind and it could be perfectly realistic that he has no plans. The question becomes what David is thinking about. Bruce Dern is absolutely brilliant as the unstable brother. This is a well-acted movie but I don't really understand what's going on.

MartinHafer You would probably expect a film starring Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern to be emotionally charged and rather exciting. Oddly, the film is the opposite. It's very, very slow and about as exciting as a documentary about cheese making--at least the first 75% of the film. Then, things heat up--but by then, most of the folks watching this film probably will have turned it off.The film begins with Nicholson playing David Staebler--a rather dull man who has a Public Radio sort of show in Philadelphia. Out of the blue, his brother, who he hasn't heard from in over a decade, contacts him and tells him to come Atlantic City for some 'big deal'. Once there, the older brother, Jason (Bruce Dern), tells him about some sort of casino that he's going to be running in Hawaii--but the details are very, very vague. Most of the time, however, instead of working on this deal, Jason just hangs out in a decrepit old hotel with two women--Sally (Ellen Burstyn) and Jessica (Julie Ann Robinson). As the film progresses, the deal seems more and more vague and Jason keeps making promises to David to get him to stay--all the while Sally's mood is incredibly unstable. What comes of all this, eventually, is a bit of a shocker--but not enough to make slogging through the first 75% of the film worth your time. It is interesting to see Nicholson play such a quiet and 'normal' person but other than that, there isn't much to recommend here.