moonspinner55 Alternately funny, ribald, rude, candid, thoughtful and occasionally boring odyssey of three sailors on liberty. Signalman First Class Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Gunner's Mate First Class Mulhall (Otis Young) are assigned to escort young Seaman Meadows (Randy Quaid) from Norfolk, Virginia to a naval prison in Maine; Meadows, a chronic shoplifter, attempted to steal $40 from a polio charity collection box and was handed a stiff eight-year sentence in the brig ("Six with two years off"). Getting to know each other on the train heading north, Buddusky and Mulhall take pity on their virginal captive and decide to make the most of their free time with some carousing in Washington, D.C. and in New York City. A few of their pit-stops--to a bar to get loaded, to a men's room to pick a fight with a few Marines, and finally to a whorehouse--are de rigueur for a military piece (one almost expects it); however, a side-trip to a Buddhist chanting session is rather disarming, and the three men look both ridiculous and wonderful while cooking wieners outdoors in the dead of winter. Written by Oscar-nominated Robert Towne, adapting Darryl Ponicsan's novel, the film has to go a long way on dialogue, and some of Towne's chatty passages just feel like filler. Still, while the picture isn't exactly witty, it does have some very funny scenes, and the acting is terrific (Nicholson and Quaid were both Oscar-nominated--Quaid in what is probably the best acting of his career). Michael Chapman's "colorless" color cinematography took some criticism in 1973 for being too dark, though it looks great today. Hal Ashby's too-leisurely direction is prodded by amiable and subtly moving moments. **1/2 from ****

sharky_55 Billy Buddusky and Richard Mulhall would not normally be friends. In another line of work they would scarcely converse apart from perhaps the odd small talk and polite nod. But circumstances and life choice have pushed them together to transport a prisoner to Portsmouth Naval Prison, so they begrudgingly strike up a partnership of sorts, if only so that the five days are not too unbearable. Then you throw in the gangly, awkward Larry Meadows, a young sailor being imprisoned for a small crime, and suddenly they look like a makeshift family. Over the course of the journey, two soldiers transporting a criminal slowly becomes a family road-trip. Like any odd couple the pair have their differences on how to treat and raise their son. In the middle of the film, Mule momentarily has a change of heart, chastising his partner on his whole coddling act. It won't do him any good for the harsh punishment he is about to endure, he reason. Billy indeed acts as a helicopter parent, albeit a hostile one. He demonstrates his learned masculinity in acts of lavish drinking and violence as if Larry was a toddler who mimics all he sees. When Larry refuses to stand up for himself, Billy utters the words for him, sending back a sandwich. "You're gonna have a f*cking beer," he snarls later. Because drinking is basically a masculine rite of passage in certain social circles, this is not just a pleasant invitation, but a demand. He will not take failure for an answer. Nicholson is loud and brash, as this is the only way his character knows how. Young acts as the more moderate counterpoint, hellbent on completing the mission at hand as we witness momentarily, but he too learns to fit in and accept the camaraderie, and his role in the unit. When Larry finally has the courage to send back his eggs, the two chuckle and pat him on the back as though he was a boy learning to ride the bicycle. What a memorable moment. Quaid is the one who pulls it all together. Perhaps he does not defy his gigantic frame so much as he grows into it; his height only serves to accentuate his nervous, timid manner, the way he always seems to have his hands in his pockets and his head bowed, having to be goaded and pushed into action. The first time I watched this I had the feeling that the ending was rather incomplete. It ends on an abrupt note; there is no extra story to be told after their assignment is finished, no sign of any closure for the trio's journeys. But seeing it now it all makes much more sense. The pair don't have the courage or guts to actually do something about the injustice of an eight year imprisonment for stealing forty dollars - the best they can do is a small white lie. So instead they try to distance themselves from the act and pretend after all the fun and bonding over beating up marines and snowy bbqs they aren't actually invested in the life of their prisoner. Not a moment after they are back to bitching about the little insignificant things. And they don't even want to stick around, but rather make their own separate way back. There's something very sad about the fact.

George Wright One of the long list of excellent realist films of the 1970's, Jack Nicholson, Otis Young and Randy Quaid are outstanding in this story of a young seaman convicted of petty theft by the military and escorted to prison to serve an eight year sentence. Directed by Hal Ashby, Nicholson and Young are the two navy men duty bound to ensure the young seaman, Randy Quaid, arrives at the prison. The young recruit is unwise to the ways of the world. Raised on the wrong side of the tracks, he developed a habit of stealing but was never in serious trouble. Now, he is faced with a prison sentence after making the mistake of trying to take money from a donation box. Unfortunate for him, the charity was the favourite pastime of the wife of the base commander. Nicholson and Young soon realize that the military authorities have consigned a meek, and obedient puppy dog to time in hell. With the reality of the severe sentence handed out to the youth, his two military colleagues embark on a journey that he will remember. That's what the movie is about but more than that, it shows the two navy petty officers conflicted by the ordeal of having to fulfil "the last detail" of an unjust sentence. They feel there is nothing they can do and to be honest, the military are paid to carry out orders; not question those orders. The men in charge of this mission are horrified at the task, particularly Nicholson. Young expresses the fear that they could ruin their careers, taken down by the base authorities if they try to right the wrong. What we see are the two men trying to alleviate the young man's pain. But they know it's a short-term fling before a long journey through a dark night of humiliation, loss of freedom and brutality. In the space of a few days, they have fun drinking, eating and whoring and in the process try to teach the youth how to become a man. What they do accomplish is to help the young man with a few lessons as he learns to stand up for himself, to throw a punch when threatened and to send back food that is not to his satisfaction. The "last detail" is carried out. The petty officers may be given low marks by others of their generation or a later generation for not trying to abort the mission. However sad that might be, it does reflect the reality of life. I was moved by the performance of the three stars.

Vidhead I just love the scene late in this film where the characters are trying to have a barbecue in that cold snowy park...everything about it wreaks of desperation; of bleakness. It is also nostalgia fuel for me...taking me back to teenage days in cold rainy parks drinking cold beers with friends...trying to get the party going when the elements are primed to crush you. No, this isn't a review, no need for that...that's been well covered here. I just need to add my words of love for this film. I probably watch it once a year but only recently got a handle on why it's like (cold) comfort food to me. It's that frozen sausage sizzle and the nostalgic chill it sends through me...go figure.