The King of Marvin Gardens
Dir: Bob Rafelson
1972
****
For what Bob Rafelson's comedy drama The King of Marvin Gardens lacks in story is certainly make up for in script, performance and artistic imagery. It's as surreal as you'd expect from one of the co-writers of The Monkees and is the perfect example of free 70's thinking alongside the sobering up of a generation after the summer of love. It's a great slice of 70's American cinema, Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern play off each other brilliantly, Dern the fast talker and Nicholson his sullen and bewildered brother, both are propped up nicely by Ellen Burstyn and Julia Anne Robinson, the overlooked stars of the film. It's quite a bleak film, full of uncertainty, a real what comes next film but with enough warmth and humour to be continuously entertaining. I've also never seen a Scatman Crothers film I haven't liked.