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Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Lois Smith, Susan Anspach, Billy Green Bush ... see more see more... , Helena Kallianiotes , Fannie Flagg , William Challee , Toni Basil , Sally Struthers , John P. Ryan , Irene Dailey , Lorna Thayer , Richard Stahl , Mariena MacGuire , Ralph Waite

A disaffected man seeks a sense of identity in one of the key films of Hollywood's 1970s New Wave. Once a promising pianist from a family of classical musicians, Bobby Eroica Dupea (Jack Nicholson, in... read more read more... his first major starring role) leads a blue-collar life as an oil rigger, living with needy waitress girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black) and bowling with their friends Elton (Billy "Green" Bush) and Stoney (Fannie Flagg). Feeling suffocated by responsibilities, Bobby seeks out his sister, Tita (Lois Smith), and, discovering that his father is gravely ill, he reluctantly heads back to the patrician family compound in Puget Sound with a pregnant Rayette in tow. After a road trip featuring a harangue from hitchhiker Palm (Helena Kallianiotes) about filth, and Bobby's ill-fated attempt to make a menu substitution in a diner, he tucks Rayette away in a motel before heading to the house. There Bobby seduces his uptight brother Carl's cultured fiancée, Catherine (Susan Anspach), but Rayette shows up unexpectedly. As Rayette's crassness collides with the snobbery of the Dupea circle, Bobby loses patience with both sides. After trying to reconcile with his mute father, Bobby departs, unwilling to give in to either destiny. Director Bob Rafelson and screenwriter Adrien Joyce (aka Carole Eastman) used the creative control afforded by the low budget to craft a European-influenced character study, catching a cultural mood of anomie and resentment as it was embodied in Bobby. Neither older generation nor hippie, Bobby fits in nowhere, and his desire for independence conflicts with his emotional emptiness. Nicholson's nuanced performance of simmering frustration resonated with 1970 audiences caught between Nixon's "silent majority" and the troubled counterculture; a substantial hit, Five Easy Pieces was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor, and established Nicholson as a star. Offering no "easy" answers to Bobby's existential crisis, Five Easy Pieces is one of the pre-eminent films in the early-'70s cycle of alienated American art movies, as even the fantasy of rebellion is reduced to merely running away. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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84% liked it

11,830 ratings

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86% liked it

35 critics

R, 1 hr. 38 min.

Directed by: Bob Rafelson

Release Date: September 12, 1970

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DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (870)

  • fb1664868775
    October 18, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Love the Tammy Wynette/Classical music soundtrack. Especially love the scene where Elton's wife is glued to the small staticy tv screen watching Frank Capra's "You Can't Take It With You".
  • axadntpron
    September 29, 2011
    axadntpron
    A great road movie about a man who is on a, wait for it, existential journey. This film not only spoke to a generation of filmgoers bewildered by end of the turbulent 60's, but also catapulted Nicholson to the A-List. It is a powerful study on alienation and not for those seeking... read more escapist entertainment.
    While it is most famous for it's diner scene, I think that scene deserves more than just the simple laugh that most people give it. While Nicholson is on a constant search for his place in this world, on the rare occasion that he does know what he wants, his efforts are obstructed by an established order. Even his attempts to rectify the situation are thwarted by those who reinforce the order. A palpable message for the turn of the decade. Unfortunately, the film does take some unnecessary detours, pun intended, and Karen Black has to be one of the most obnoxious on screen presences I have ever witnessed.
  • mjgildea
    May 10, 2011
    mjgildea
    Jack Nicholson's performance in Five Easy Pieces is incendiary, plain and simple. It's not a particularly exciting or even a feel good movie but its an honest character study with plenty of great and/or distracting moments. The direction and photography are beautiful and the soun... read moredtrack is great. Five Easy Pieces gets better with each viewing and is proof positive that Jack Nicholson could do no wrong in the early 1970s.
  • ythelastman89
    March 15, 2011
    ythelastman89
    Probably one of the greatest examinations of American life. Not only is it a flawlessly done Road Movie, it is also far more deep and multi-facetted than that. It says so much about family, love, work, personality and the goal of the American Dream. I think the greatest aspect is... read more that it hardly follows the average narrative, it's a lot more like actual life. Many of the questions are never answered and many of the characters don't have a final resolve. It also doesn't have a sappy ending, which is incredibly brave for 1970.
    Jack Nicholson gives probably one of his greatest performances as Robert Dupea, one of the most realistic characters put on screen. He is in many ways a horrible person at first examination. He has very little redeeming qualities, has nearly no compassion or sense of love. However, that's what makes him so great. He's a perfect representation of a real human being. Most of us are more selfish than we like to put on and have issues that are never made obvious to others. When the movie unfolds, you began to realize why he is the way he is and gain somewhat of a respect for him.
    The film captures the landscape of the country in a way that no other film before or since has replicated or even come close to. The shots of the small towns, local spots and the highway are almost scarily close to the way a human perceives it. They didn't dress up the set or made it look more beautiful than it is, it was the reality of where they were.
  • hunterjt13
    January 23, 2011
    hunterjt13
    There's a lot to like about this film. Nicholson is very good, providing subtle nuances to the morally ambiguous Bobby. This is remarkably well-drawn character in both writing and acting, and his roundness comes from his contradictions - a classically trained pianist working on... read more a oil rig, his despises Rayette but quickly defends her. Karen Black is almost unrecognizable as Rayette; hair dye, an accent, and her exceptional talent work wonders.
    If the film centers on anything, it is Bobby's trip to see his dying father and resolve the conflict between his relationships with his family and his itinerant tendencies. But this conflict waits at least forty minutes to reveal itself, and in the meantime, we have characters who, in the Rafelson tradition, pass through this film on their way to another one. Their relationship to this character, this conflict, this story seems tangential at best.
    Also, I can't say I enjoyed the ending. I won't give it away, but I wondered if the past ninety-eight minutes meant anything to anyone involved in the film. At the same time, I understand that Bobby was out of options, and everything had been tried in order to otherwise resolve his conflict. The bottom line is that the ending could leave some viewers wanting more while others may see it as perfectly appropriate. I suppose I was somewhere in the middle.
    Overall, Five Easy Pieces is Nicholson and Black at their finest, but I think Rafelson is more of an actor's director and not a story-teller.
  • ajv2688
    December 16, 2010
    ajv2688
    A brilliant drama with a great cast and an emotional relatable story. I loved this movie and I highly recommend it.
  • bookmunki
    May 18, 2010
    bookmunki
    This film forces existential analysis because Bobbyâ??s character is so obviously and painfully conflicted. His actions reveal intelligence, along with the requisite anti-heroic characteristics of privilege, superiority and arrogance. Despite his philandering ways, he also reve... read moreals a moral awareness and complexity, demonstrated by his decision to see his father and taking Rayette along for the trip. These aspects create an expectation for psychological understanding, compelling the viewer to attach motivation or meaning to his actions.

    Bobbyâ??s romantic relationships are a manifestation of his internal conflict. He knows Rayette is uneducated and her intelligence level is questionable. He treats her abominably, if not abusively, but fundamentally respects her qualities (at least when juxtaposed with the values of his upbringing). His regard is notably revealed in his defense of her character and humanity in the parlor scene. His connection with his brotherâ??s girlfriend is unsurprising because of his womanizing tendencies: The element of interest is that Bobby seemingly desires to pursue a deeper relationship with Catherine. She is Rayetteâ??s opposite, Bobbyâ??s mirror, and a necessary manifestation of his internal conflict: She is never an honest romantic interest. Is his a universal or individual conflict? Is it attributable to privileged socio-economic position or a pervasive post-modern condition?

    What aches in this film is Bobbyâ??s awareness of the conflict, but the inability to dismiss or resolve it. Various familiar literary characters abound with possible resolutions: Camusâ?? Mersault attaches no meaning to action; Shakespeareâ??s Prince Hal â??slums it,â?? in preparation for his greater station; Self-destructive, Bukowskian characters create their own brand of misery and adversity, meanwhile forging a personal mythos and truth. Yet, when things inevitably â??go badâ?? for Bobby, he simply escapes, anything to negate or avoid performing those five easy pieces.

    The original, scripted ending involved a car crash, proving fatal for Bobby, but not Rayette. This ending forces a predictable and poetic resolution, which was replaced by the cameraâ??s distant observation of the gas station. Instead, Bobbyâ??s departure implies the repetition of his Sisyphean cycle, thereby inflicting a haunting ambiguity, emotional hollowness and pervasive meaninglessness to the filmâ??s conclusion. A bleak and nightmarish American vision!
  • jjnxn
    April 18, 2010
    jjnxn
    Well acted story of disaffection individually and within a family. While I wouldn't say it was enjoyable it is an admirable effort that makes straight forward observations about its characters without softening them or trying to make them more appealing.
  • fb619846742
    April 17, 2010
    fb619846742
    An effective, emotionally ravaging story concerning a drifter who runs away from his problems and picks up every odd job he can find. Nicholson has that magnetic quality that few actors possess so well, and his strong, utterly superb performance drives this film all the way throu... read moregh. Although it does bog down from time to time, director Bob Rafelson displays his mastery of the art of subtlety, using this for most of the film, before nailing his most important scenes with sudden outbursts from his characters that catch you off guard. Nicholson's character is definitely flawed, and he's a time-bomb ready to explode at any moment, but his mysterious character always keeps you glued to your seat, and the end of the film is just perfect beyond words.
  • SirPant
    October 2, 2009
    SirPant
    A wonderfully bleak and often depressing portrait of an unlikable man who is constantly tormented by his own failings. Fantastic direction, brilliant performances and some of the best scenes in cinema make this film a classic. Hurrah for unhappy endings, not enough contemporary f... read moreilms have them!

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Critic Reviews

Nick Pinkerton
February 23, 2010
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice

It's a great work of the Discover America Seventies. Full Review

Variety Staff
July 26, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

The film's nervewracking quality is consistent with its content. Nicholson's performance is a remarkably varied and daring exploration of a complex character, equally convincing in its manic and sober... Full Review

Dave Kehr
July 26, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

The film embraces proletarian chic but still gets its laughs by abusing waitresses. Full Review

Roger Greenspun
May 21, 2003
Roger Greenspun, New York Times

Rafelson is expert at supporting this movement, and the film proceeds from scene to scene with a quiet competent modernism that bespeaks quality, but that more often begs than provides expression. Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 25, 2003
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

We'd had a revelation. This was the direction American movies should take: Into idiosyncratic characters, into dialogue with an ear for the vulgar and the literate, into a plot free to surprise us abo... Full Review

Wesley Lovell
August 15, 2011
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy

An American entry into the French New Wave starring a compelling Jack Nicholson. Full Review

Jason Best
March 10, 2011
Jason Best, Movie Talk

Boasting a career best performance by Jack Nicholson in the lead role, Rafelson's movie is a penetrating study of American alienation. Full Review

James Kendrick
December 7, 2010
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

moves from scenes of quiet desperation to moments of great black humor Full Review

Sean Axmaker
December 3, 2010
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View

[Jack] Nicholson helped redefine the leading man as a guy who doesn't have the answers but still swaggers through with the show of confidence and control of someone who does. Full Review

Neil Smith
August 19, 2010
Neil Smith, Total Film

Both spirited road movie and existential journey. Full Review

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    • Robert Eroica Dupea: Now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules.
    • Waitress: You want me to hold the chicken, huh?
    • Robert Eroica Dupea: I want you to hold it between your knees.
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Five Easy Pieces Trivia

  • Jack Nicholson's famous "Chicken salad sandwich" speech was from which film?  Answer »
  • Who was the female lead opposite Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces"?  Answer »
  • Mike Meyers drew inspiration from all of these films for his Austin Powers except _____?  Answer »
  • What musical instrument does Jack Nicholson play in Five Easy Pieces?  Answer »
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