The Last Detail (1973)

Too much of everything

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good concept, poorly executed.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I was so hard to watch this movie. It is a simple story. A young sailor makes a stupid mistake. Because of petty theft, he is court-martialed and sent to prison for eight years. Two petty officers have the duty of bringing him to meet his fate. Randy Quaid is the sad young man who is bewildered and defenseless. We know that he will not do well in prison. So these guys do everything to try to make his last days of freedom memorable. They get him into a fight, get him drunk, and biting him to a whorehouse where they set him up with a prostitute. He is a fish out of water so what these guys are doing is pretty foreign to him. But these guys are heroes and are showing love the best way they can. The nice thing is that we get to see Nicholson on the road to greatness.

In one word: this is MASCULINE. Manly, virile. This is a man's film, in everything that's wrong with that, and everything that's fine with that. A couple of more seasoned marines have to escort this young delinquent, who's really a nice young 'fellar' but with issues, to some prison. Along the way, they develop a liking for each other and form a group of pals. Jack Nicholson is a slightly unbalanced person himself as depicted multiple times, and the adventures pile up with these three tearing it up in the open spaces, from fun with alcohol and other pleasures of life, to fights or coming across some of the more particular places in town. It's a fun ride, the acting is very good and captivating, the story lets itself be told and all in all this is quite entertaining. Although this is the sort of film that will never add a second layer to itself, and is really event-based and nothing beyond that, it's exactly what it wants to be and does it well. All the way up til the end does this film stay true to itself.

There's so much I like about this movie. I was in the Navy when I first saw it and loved how it realistically captured the enlisted reality. The dread you felt when an office or Chief came down the hall looking for volunteers. And you were trapped into some stupid detail. As Mule and Badass drag along Larry to prison forever, they stop along the way to make sure he gets some life experiences before being locked up. Larry matures enough that by the end he can speak up about his unmelted cheese and attempt a getaway. The dialog is perfect -- the slang, the intonation, and the attitudes have been captures. The acting is effortless.

Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young) are weary sailors assigned to escort young Meadows (Randy Quaid) from Norfolk to Portsmouth. Meadows tried to steal $40 from the Polio contribution box which is the favorite charity of the admiral's wife. They plan to take the slow route and save the per diem to spend on the way back. However they take pity on the poor sap Meadows who is about to spend 8 years in the brig. They take him to find some good times at the big city stops along the way.It's a bit meandering as a story but Nicholson gives a good performance. He's the undisputed star every time he's on the screen. Randy Quaid is playing a timid character. Sometimes he gets off a good laugh. In general, the movie is a slow moving comedy from director Hal Ashby with a few very good laughs.