Jack Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The first time I saw Jack Nicholson was on ESPN, it was Kobe Bryant’s last game in the NBA. The interviewer (I forgot who he/she was) sat beside Jack in the courtside and began asking him questions. The interviewer only addressed Jack by his first name, as in “Thanks, Jack” and not “Jack Nicholson everybody” like he doesn’t have any last name. I, as a big Kobe fan, was intrigued by this man who saw every Kobe Bryant home game, except for his 81-point show against the Toronto Raptors. I immediately googled “Jack Kobe last game” on my phone. I clicked a video on YouTube and went to the comments asking myself who is this Jack. Then I saw his full name and googled it again, this time I typed “Jack Nicholson.” There I found out that Jack is the Kobe of actors, in other words, the greatest of all time,  winner of three Academy Awards, two as Best Actor and one in a supporting role. I watched videos of him on YouTube, interviews, scenes from his movies, impressions of him by other actors. He really is Mr Cool, and with all due respect to Steve McQueen, Jack for me is the King of Cool. It was basically the start of my Jack Nicholson Fever.

I saw The Departed, where he played as a mafia leader alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. I also watched As Good As It Gets and Terms of Endearment where he both won an Oscar.­ But my favourite is his performance in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest where he deservedly won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Randle ‘Mac’ McMurphy, a recidivist criminal who was sent to a mental institution to be evaluated. Jack Nicholson’ performance in the film was a testament that he really is one of the greatest actors. He portrayed his character in a way that makes the audience empathize with Mac in his struggles against Louise Fletcher’s character, Nurse Ratched. It is one of those performances where you can say, Mac is Jack and Jack is Mac. The scene where he pretended to be watching the World Series even if Nurse Ratched refused to turn the television set on was perfect.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was one of the greatest in its own right. Based on a novel by Ken Kesey, the film won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay alongside Jack’s Best Actor, Louise Fletcher’s Best Actress, and Milos Forman’s Best Director award— the five major Academy Awards. It was included on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Movies list and was selected by the National Film Registry for preservation.

But amidst the accolades and recognition, you will never understand the film’s true greatness without watching it. It is an experience every movie enthusiast should have. To witness the seemingly monotonous life of patients in mental institutions (until Mac arrived, he gave life to Nurse Ratched’s ward), to see other aspects of the rehabilitation versus incarceration debate, it is all part of the experience. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a satire, a shot at a conformist society as Roger Ebert described in his own review of the film. More than three decades after the film was produced, the same sociopolitical environment it tries to satirize still exists.

 

“You guys do nothing but complain about how you can’t stand it in this place and  then you haven’t got the guts just to walk out.”

-Randle McMurphy

 

It is a classic film, one that never goes old. Expert directing by the great Milos Forman; superb acting by an ensemble cast that includes Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, Will Sampson, and Brad Dourif; excellent screenplay by Laurence Hauben and Bo Goldman; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has all the essential elements of a great film and Jack Nicholson is the cherry on top. We saw him portray the Joker in Batman, Jack Torrance in The Shining and many other crazy, rebellious characters but Jack Nicholson as Randle McMurphy is definitely his greatest performance‑ his own version of Kobe’s 81-point game— and you shouldn’t miss it.