Good start, but then it gets ruined

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Two U.S. Navy petty officers (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) must escort a young sailor (Randy Quaid) from Virginia to Maine where he must begin an eight-year prison sentence in a military prison for a petty crime. With stopovers in four big cities along the way, the officers want to show the prisoner some fun before his sentence. As this was the 1970s, a good time was had by all........at least until the party had to end.At the time of release, this movie was controversial for its profanity - language that would unlikely raise an eyelash by today's terms except for occasional sexist and homophobic remarks. There is also an attitude of women being objects of pursuit rather than as people with their own desires and pursuits. This attitude would be very typical in many films that would follow. But these wannabe copycats miss out on the heart and courage of "The Last Detail" thus showing their inferiority to a true original. Copying only the smut, without the soul, is a copout.Despite their rough ways, the officers show a genuine concern for the sailor as they know better than he does the fate that awaits him with cruel Marine prison guards. The courage of the film shows in its open criticism of its nation's military though this was more a reflection of its time - an attitude that would be dismissed decades later as "unpatriotic". It is best reflected in a scene in which a young, power-groping officer is in a position of authority that is beyond his years and competence.The pacing by director Hal Ashby is smooth and leaves viewers feeling like we are part of the multi-day party as well as the melancholy that precedes and follows the journey. Whether the guys visit various bars, a chanting spiritual group, a party, or a bordello, the interiors are believably low-key; they would probably have been more superficially flashy in a higher-budget film.The ending is also low-key compared to the events that precede it but we can feel the frustration and sadness of the characters.Final praise must go to the trio of actors who work very well together. Nicholson conveys so much with just a smirk or a muttered comment; Young is the perfect anchor for the group; Quaid is totally believable as someone too naïve and innocent for the world that surrounds him.And a bonus within this grand experience: a cameo role played by Gilda Radner before she became a major star.OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Directing by Hal Ashby

This movie is without a doubt a comedy/drama. I loved it for the soul purpose of the three main actors. It was like watching lives unfold and then reality hits and then like the era they represent, they all three collide as a learning experience and or like one entity with three totally different perspectives on life issues and how to deal with it. This movie is a must see. Jack is Jack. The wild man of the silver screen with a control only he can tame. His character is wild. His performance is spot on. Loved this movie and you will too. Watch it!! I even stayed up 2 hours past my usual bed-time to watch it. There are parts in this movie that will definitely make you shake your head in disbelief but all in all, what is a movie without some added B.S. to help get to the next scene without totally destroying the whole movie and it's concept to guide us through what their intentions really are. Great movie!

One of the long list of excellent realist films of the 1970's, Jack Nicholson, Otis Young and Randy Quaid are outstanding in this story of a young seaman convicted of petty theft by the military and escorted to prison to serve an eight year sentence. Directed by Hal Ashby, Nicholson and Young are the two navy men duty bound to ensure the young seaman, Randy Quaid, arrives at the prison. The young recruit is unwise to the ways of the world. Raised on the wrong side of the tracks, he developed a habit of stealing but was never in serious trouble. Now, he is faced with a prison sentence after making the mistake of trying to take money from a donation box. Unfortunate for him, the charity was the favourite pastime of the wife of the base commander. Nicholson and Young soon realize that the military authorities have consigned a meek, and obedient puppy dog to time in hell. With the reality of the severe sentence handed out to the youth, his two military colleagues embark on a journey that he will remember. That's what the movie is about but more than that, it shows the two navy petty officers conflicted by the ordeal of having to fulfil "the last detail" of an unjust sentence. They feel there is nothing they can do and to be honest, the military are paid to carry out orders; not question those orders. The men in charge of this mission are horrified at the task, particularly Nicholson. Young expresses the fear that they could ruin their careers, taken down by the base authorities if they try to right the wrong. What we see are the two men trying to alleviate the young man's pain. But they know it's a short-term fling before a long journey through a dark night of humiliation, loss of freedom and brutality. In the space of a few days, they have fun drinking, eating and whoring and in the process try to teach the youth how to become a man. What they do accomplish is to help the young man with a few lessons as he learns to stand up for himself, to throw a punch when threatened and to send back food that is not to his satisfaction. The "last detail" is carried out. The petty officers may be given low marks by others of their generation or a later generation for not trying to abort the mission. However sad that might be, it does reflect the reality of life. I was moved by the performance of the three stars.

Two Navy officers (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) are appointed to escort a young sailor (Randy Quaid) to prison after he had stolen 40 dollars from a charity collection box. The boy appears as defenseless, since he is a victim of an unjust sentence and the two officers, moved by his weak personality, decide to take some time to let him discover and appreciate things in life that he would not be able to enjoy during his years in prison. Nor Nicholson nor Young are heroes in this film: they instead are failed officers who want to redeem their personal satisfaction on showing and teaching Quaid the pleasures of life. That's all they know. By trying to help the young man growing, they end up ruining his future. He contemplates escape only because he's aware that what's expecting him will destroy his pureness.This film is liberating, because we experience with Quaid the emotions he faces for the first time, and ambiguous, because the efforts of the two officers in leaving in the boy good memories pushes them to question their role and assignment.