28/50: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I really have a hard time watching films that are older for the first time and actually liking them as much as a should. The quality just isn't there anymore and it really just feels old.

However, with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I really had issue with the fact that it was released in 1975.

R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a convict that is sent to a mental institution, despite the warden of the place believing that McMurphy is faking. While there, he befriends all of the other patients, and soon realizes that they are being treated unfairly.

He begins to teach them a few different things, like gambling and watching the World Series. He even breaks them out for a day on the lake fishing.

The main problem with the hospital is its staff, led by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). One of the worst villains in cinema history (even voted that by AFI). Her villainy is more mental than physical, but she is truly heinous. She treats the patients horribly - and won't let them enjoy anything.

A few other bright spots were spotting Christopher Lloyd as a patient named Taber. And, once the film ended, finding out that the person playing Martini was Danny DeVito. I honestly had no clue that he was in the film, and had to go back to see who he was. I was astonished.

Anyway, the ending was horrible - and not horrible as in I hated it, but just hard to take. I won't divulge too much in case someone hasn't seen it.

Either way, I loved the film. A great performance by Nicholson - even though he was supposed to be over the time, I don't think he felt over the top.

Grade:

When in Rome

I have do admit, I am a sucker for a Kristen Bell movie. Add in some of the secondary characters and this film had the cast to be something special.

Unfortunately, When in Rome fell a little flat for me.

Bell plays Beth a young, career driven girl who has sort of put love on the back burner to get further with her career.

Her sister, Joan (Alexis Dziena), however, falls head over heels in love with a guy and decides to get married - just a few weeks after meeting him. And, the marriage is in Rome.

Beth flies out to Rome to be the maid of honor at her sister's wedding, where she meets Nick (Josh Duhamel), who is the groom's best man.

The night doesn't go according to plan as both the maid of honor and best man have serious issues throughout the wedding and the reception - but their goofiness and clumsiness actually brings them closer together, and they sort of hit it off.

So much so, that Beth runs out looking for Nick and sees him getting kissed by a very drunk party guest - but mistakes this kiss for something else and believes she has once again failed at love.

While sitting on a wishing fountain, Beth jumps in and grabs four coins and a poker chip from the fountain - this somehow makes each person that tossed the coins into the fountain to fall madly in love with Beth.

This could have been better than it was as the characters were a magician named Lance (Jon Heder), a painter named Antonio (Will Arnett), a model named Gale (Dax Shepard) and an older guy named Al (Danny DeVito).

Don't get me wrong there were some funny scenes that occur because of these guys, but it should have been a lot funnier. One great scene is amazing for Napolean Dynamite fans, which I won't ruin here - but I laughed pretty hard.

So, the rest of the film is Beth trying to get away from these guys before figuring out the reason they are all after - and believing that Nick is also under this spell once she sees that the poker chip she pulled from the fountain is the same he uses.

This was pretty good and a little different, albeit very crazy, than other romantic comedies - at least it was trying to be different. It had a few good laughs, but I still feel it could have been so much more.

Grade: