Product: The Two Jakes [VHS] (1990)
Rating: 1.0
Is riding on the coattails of Chinatown (1974),
The Two Jakes (1990) is a movie that may show up on viewers radarscreens for one of two reasons: the actors (Jack Nicholson & HarveyKeitel) and the fact that it is riding on the coattails ofChinatown (1974), the latter a notorious blockbuster from the1970's cinema.First, JK and HK utter their unimaginative lines the best as theycan, the script apparently drawn up by someone who hasn't gonebeyond grade school. Not only that, the story is confusing, perhapstaken from a book (20 years after the original movie) and perhapshaphazardly transposed from book to the silver screen. Theuninspired dialog and lines in the script, although intended toconvey "meaning" and "depth", does quite the opposite almost each andevery time, despite the best efforts of JN to transform the theatregoer's experience.Secondly, had the movie editing, the scenes and visual impact been50 times better, perhaps this movie could have "passed" as a"visual", art-house movie but this is not the case at all. Thoseaforementioned aspects are more than ordinary and those thoseaspects come up short, as does the slow paced action, the languidand confusing dialogue resembling that uttered from a patient withAlzheimer's.)The musical accompaniment (soundtrack) on the other hand, isdecent, and is perhaps the only strong point of this work, in that itis not likely to offend anyone, no matter the age or gender. The warmth ofthe characters and the effort in the women with their looks isanother strong point.The historical aspect, of the oil-exploration mania and of competinghousing developments on the California coast, is only touched upon in aremote, superficial and folkloric manner, with an expertise laid outequivalent to what anyone could learn from reading a regular newspaper.Overall, this DVD has no place in the movie library of a fan of JNor HK, from the total lack of replay value.