So I'm trying to decide whether I should take a private plane to Vegas, maybe do a little gambling, or maybe I should drop by and see Hef--I've got a standing invitation to hang out in the Grotto--but...I thought I'd just hang out on the couch, relive past memories, and drink myself into a stupor.
However, while flipping channels ('cause I don't like drinking alone) I stumbled upon A Few Good Men, a good old fashioned Hollywood movie that tells its story exceedingly well.
Ok, so I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but, really, this is a great, smart flick. Yeah, it's got some "Hollywood" moments: Kaffee (Tom Cruise) trying to live up to the memory of his father, the unreality of this thing even going to trial, and getting Jessup (Nicholson) on the stand, but it WORKS! I mean, it's got its Perry Mason moments, but it WORKS!
The reason it works is because of the acting, specifically Cruise and Nicholson. Yeah, Nicholson deservedly won the Oscar, probably for his speech at the end ("...you want me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall..."), but if you look at his first meeting with Cruise and Co. in Gitmo you can see the reptilian gaze switch from condescension and anger at being questioned by these Navy peons in their "faggoty white uniforms" to charm that never touches his eyes. The guy literally owns that movie, and there is no way you can think of this movie without thinking of Nicholson. Seriously. Best Support Actor 'cause I think the movie would fall apart without him.
Having said that, Cruise does a remarkable job. Yeah, he's Tom Cruise, and he's been playing the same type of character for quite awhile now, but he's the perfect straight man in this flick. He's got two scenes with Nicholson, goes toe to toe with a fucking legend, and makes it work.
Of course, what really makes this flick work is the writing. Aaron Sorkin wrote the play, and then wrote the screenplay. It hits all the right notes: smart, engaging, funny where it needs to be funny, and it has its Hollywood moments without it being too obvious. Demi Moore's in it 'cause, well...I think they wanted a female in it. But the movie rightfully stays away from any romance between Cruise and Moore, sticking to the story, setting us up for the "you can't handle the truth" scene that Nicholson nails.
And the reason that scene is so good, and the reason that Nicholson nails it is 'cause every word of it is true. This is fantastic writing.
Good stuff. If you haven't seen it, see it.
