Day 90- Movie 90. Goin' South (1978)

The main reason I wanted to watch this movie is because of Jack Nicholson. I had no idea Nicholson had ever directed a movie, and yet, here's one of them. I wanted to see what he could do behind the camera, because he's clearly one of the greatest actors of all time. Using Goin' South as a sample size of one, I would advise him to stick to acting. It's probably no coincidence that Nicholson has only directed 3 films, and none in the last 20 years.

This movie is about an outlaw (Jack Nicholson) about to be hanged for his crimes. At the last second, he is saved by a woman (Mary Steenburgen) who agrees to marry him (which apparently sets him free). The two clash as they dig for gold on her small homestead. The story seems like it would be interesting. Comedy westerns are a pretty rare genre, so I was excited to see how this one unfolded. Unfortunately, this is just a bad movie.

I hate to blame Nicholson, but as the star and director, he deserves the majority of the blame. The script wasn't exactly fantastic, but it was certainly better than this film turned out to be. Nicholson simply doesn't seem to be that talented of a director. This movie moves almost at a glacial pace. I lost almost complete interest about halfway through the movie, and then it became a fight to keep me interested for the last 40 minutes. It was a struggle. The movie is just a mess of scenes that all seem too familiar to the one that came before. The story does progress, but so slowly that it is almost imperceptible. I was waiting desperately for something to happen- anything to happen, really- and when I got my wish, I was disappointed in that, too.

The one bright spot in this film is that it was the film debut of Mary Steenburgen. I've always liked Steenburgen, and I think she delivers a very strong performance here. Although the movie all around her is weak, unfunny, and boring, she shines in almost every scene she's in. It's no surprise that this film was only nominated for 1 award (total), and that was for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Acting Debut- Female. Steenburgen didn't win, but she was the sole bright spot.

That's a shame, because the cast is impressive on paper. You have Nicholson in the lead, with supporting roles going to Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, John Belushi, and Ed Begley Jr. None of them make much of an impact on the film, however. Their roles were too small to too stupid to matter.

I hate to be negative about this movie because I respect Nicholson so much, but this is simply a movie that missed its mark completely. It's a joyless, boring, ineffective movie that felt like a complete waste of time. The best scenes all involve Steenburgen (and it is genuinely fun to watch her and Nicholson interact), but these are too few. This movie had a good idea at its core, but almost everything about this movie is a disappointment. I didn't like this Goin' South very much at all. I'll give it a generous 5/10.

Well, so far, so good. 10 days left, and I have 10 movies to go. I'm getting a bit anxious, being so close. It's pretty amazing to think that I've watched 90 movies since December 1. In some ways, the next 10 will be the hardest. I had to force myself to sit down and watch a movie tonight, and I bet that feeling will stick with me the rest of the week. I love watching movies, but my God, I need a break.