Comments on: Jack Nicholson: 5 Of His Most Underrated Performances

By: N.G.

N.G. — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 18:21:20 +0000

Bang on the money with PRIZZI'S HONOR & THE PLEDGE.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:11:00 +0000

Agree on all fronts; I have a soft spot for him in Goin South too though 😉

By: Walice

Walice — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:14:04 +0000

Luv this list. The Border gives me a nice Nicholson, even though the story is a little thin/careful – I want him to leave his wife for the cross border character. Films seem to be reviewed from a central pool of like or dislike, heaven forbit we should disagree!!

Critics should note that the moment they don't like something – I RUN out and buy it. Anyone want to discuss Hoffa ?? Happy Birthday Mr. Nicholson

By: cinejordan

cinejordan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:33:44 +0000

He is exceptional in all of these, but particularly in The Border and The Pledge (but About Schmidt needed to be here, too). Nice list all around, though I think accusing Nicholson of falling into self-parody is unfair. I think he has veered away from innocuous, embarrassing, and lightweight fare better than Pacino, De Niro, Hoffman, or any of his other contemporaries. He has continually taken more risks and his passion for acting and good stories still shines through.

By: gunz1

gunz1 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:09:05 +0000

I guess I need to see The King of Marvin Gardens, but The Pledge and Prizzis Honor are for sure under rated great performances. I wasn't sure anyone else had seen The Border but Jack was outstanding in it, and, without his performance, (Keaton too) Reds was a very over rated film and I wasn't a big fan of it. I agree with the the other person for pointing out About Schmidt–Jack was subtle and outstanding, the movie was underrated. Despite all of his early performances which were well done and mentioned, I believe one of his very best performances ever was in The Departed and I am a huge fan of Chinatown, Cuckoos Nest, Carnal Knowledge and 5 Easy Pieces….OK Jack in general. Happy Birthday to an entertainer who has entertained well through many centuries. I absolutely disagree with the comment that he pretty much stuck to his "star persona" most of the time.

By: PT

PT — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:20:48 +0000

Yes, happy to see Reds and especially The Pledge on here. Both are probably his best performances post-Cuckoo's Nest, when he pretty much stuck to his star persona most of the time.

By: Huffy

Huffy — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:38:25 +0000

Like everyone else I'm happy to see The Pledge on here (I think it's also Penn's best movie, definitely superior to Into the Wild) but I'm really pleasantly surprised that The Border also showed up.
And I think that even with his recent flirtations with self-parody that Nicholson's career has aged much better than his contemporaries. There really aren't too many blatant paycheck movies on his recent resume. Even Anger Management was decent by Adam Sandler standards, something that can't be said about the one that Pacino embarrassed himself in.

By: cirkusfolk

cirkusfolk — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:06:06 +0000

I clicked on the article just hoping to see The Pledge made the list and it looks like I'm not the only one. But what is truely underrated is Nicholson with a mustache. In three outta the five films he has one.

By: Nik Grape

Nik Grape — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:30:01 +0000

The Pledge is definitely underrated, both as a film and with Nicholson's performance. He's my favorite actor so picking his best is a bit of a torment. Something between Carnal Knowledge, One Flew Over and The Shining. As for underrated: I'd say his About Schmidt (same as Prizzi's Honor, he was nominated but now the film is hardly ever talked about) and The Missouri Breaks, a complete failure in its time but still had excellent performances from Brando and Nicholson. Thanks for reminding me about The Border! I haven't seen that in ages, it deserves a re-watch.

By: MAL

MAL — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:23:46 +0000

So glad you have The Pledge on the list. It has been seen by too few people and is an astonishing film with a powerful and surprisingly emotionally engaging performance by Nicholson — my favourite of his. About Schmidt is another of his performances I found surprising — mostly from his sadness and self-deprication.

By: [A]

[A] — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Good call on THE PLEDGE

I haven't seen the other movies — shame on me?