Review of The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) by Graham J — 07 Aug 2011

Enjoyable for the performances of Bruce Dern as "Jason" and Ellen Burstyn as "Sally"--two middle-aged dreamers in Atlantic City who are failing to realize their dreams. But, movie is told from the perspective of Jack Nicholson as "David" and I'm still not sure why he has to travel from Philadelphia to assist his brother Dern who's being released from prison. Nicholson is boring in a flat performance which is probably one of his worst acting assignments.

The screenplay is actually filled with cliches. Besides Dern and Burstyn, it's nice to see the Boardwalk as a grim reminder of deterioration or where dreams go to die. Scatman Crothers gives a charming performance as Lewis but his role is underwritten. It's a difficult movie to watch because these are not characters that you'd want to hangout with in any situation.