Product: The Two Jakes [VHS] (1990)
Rating: 3.0
Jake Couldn't Forget It
Have you ever noticed that movies that want to evoke the classic private detective films of the past employ a voice-over narration that none of them had? This is no exception and more an enjoyable curiosity than a fitting follow-up to the peerless classic. Good production values throughout, but the tone borders at times on the farcical with Jack throwing himself over the furniture. Perhaps he's aware that the signs of the good life in his frame are a bit out of character with the sleek, dapper Gittes we remember from the first film. It's still a good performance and his direction is distinctive and certainly takes chances by changing the pace of the first film. There's a terrific final moment.Harvey Keitel as the second Jake seems miscast and doesn't really register `til the film's end. Meg Tilley is effective in a role that's just about unplayable while the great Madeline Stowe goes over the top and stays there.The documentary teases us with a few hints about "Gittes Vs. Gittes" the third installment of the trilogy. Perhaps Robert Towne could publish it as a novel one day.