The King of Marvin Gardens
At the start of his long career
as a Hollywood movie star, Jack Nicholson came to be cast in leading roles during the
late 60s and early 70s. Two such movies I’ve seen recently
have been, in reverse order of their release,
The King of Marvin Gardens, and Five Easy Pieces. Bob Rafelson,
another who began building a reputation during that era, wrote the screenplay
for both movies. In both movies, FEP in particular, the screenplay is composed so as to confound
the audience's early expectations.
In KOMG, Nicholson
plays David Staebler, a very late-night radio host and
“philosopher”. In his glasses and formal suit he physically resembles Sherry Speeth as depicted
by Alice Neel, and his voice doesn't have a the timbre that we might imagine would belong to someone in his line of work.
As far as we know, this character might have a shady past, although his cryptic
reference to having “done time” could, we later learn, refer to a stay in a
psychiatric hospital. It’s quickly established, when, in a fit of pique, he
ends his show by playing eight minutes of the show's theme tune, that
he is prepared to do his own thing.
This impression is
further borne out by the evident ease with which he adapts to the unusual
situation that his brother Jason introduces him to in off-season Atlantic City,
New Jersey. Bruce Dern plays Jason much like a
definitely more worldly Cosmo Kramer (decades before
Seinfeld, of course). A huckster whose enthusiasm for his
grand plans is probably mis-guided, he has pitched up
in this netherland on the fringes of civilian
territory where he lives in a ménage a trois with two
women in a once grand hotel.
After David arrives in
Atlantic City, there follows a series of off-beat encounters and episodes
loosely connected with his older brother's manoeuvring to
establish a casino resort on a Hawaiian island that he plans to rename Staebleravia. This is one of several allusions to the
titular King, others include David’s reputation among his family as a
“philosopher king”. Tied up in these events is Jason's erstwhile boss, played by Scatman Carruthers.
The script is witty
with some memorable quotes coming from Ellen Burstyn’s volatile faded
beauty queen : “He’s only got one thing. Depression, suspicion
and mistrust,” or Jason : “We’ve got bimbo
coming for gym class.” I think it's one of Zero Mostel's relatives, playing a boardwalk auctioneer,
who warns David that the pertaining state of affairs "Don't got good bode." Fans of Gary Larson’s Far Side will appreciate
the scene with the clutch of housewives, in headscarves and hornrims.
What with the period details, including Jitney buses and motorised boardwalk people carriers, and decent cast,
this movie's atmosphere and mood perhaps trumps its plot, which meanders a bit, however it's
a good show all things considered.