The First Gross Classic Miscast of Jack Nicholson

Rating: 6/10 (28 November 2006)

*CAUTION: CONTAINS SPOILERS* First off, this movie had some very good aspects to it. Milos Forman's direction was skilfully done, though a notch or two below his later achievement "Amadeus". Many of the scenes were quite moving, and the characters were fleshed out very well.
Except for McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson). Sadly, this character was what the whole movie relied on, and it was what brought it down. Even those of you who haven't read to book will be disappointed by how selfish his character seems. All the bad things that happen to the patients (and to Mr. Tuttle the black worker) seem to be the result of his whims.
To those of you who read the book: you'll be absolutely infuriated. McMurphy, in the book, is selfLESS, and while he may seem carefree and whimsical on the outside, you can actually tell in Ken Kesey's writing that he is really trying to help the patients in this insane asylum to find their true strengths. You cannot see this in the movie at all. Only the Chief seems able to leave the asylum in the end, and Billy's death seems entirely McMurphy's fault, when in the book it was clearly Nurse Ratched's.
At first I didn't know who to blame for this gross misinterpretation of McMurphy's character, whether it was Forman in his direction, Goldman and Hauben in their screen writing, or Nicholson in his acting. However, after watching "The Shining", directed by my all-time favorite, Kubrick, I can now safely say that everything is Nicholson's fault. He ruins characters. In this movie and "The Shining" he portrayed all the crazy in the characters, and then some, but he failed to show any of the humanity that made us love them in the books. He has ruined this movie for lovers of Ken Kesey's classic, and possibly even for those who haven't read the book beforehand.
Otherwise, the movie had a few awkward scenes, but was overall well-made. However, if you truly want to enjoy "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," read the novel. It creates a much stronger mix of emotions (from the hilarious to the sad to the subliminally disturbing, all at the same time) than the movie, and the characters' motives seem much more purely driven. I promise you will enjoy it more than this piece of cinema.