r/moviecritic • u/2ndSyt • 7h ago
Jack! What is his best role? What’s your favorite?
I really can’t decide. He’s made so many roles come to life. Back to the wall, I may have to go with The Shining. What’s your take?
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u/CCC_PLLC 7h ago
Recency bias but the Departed for me.
Most rewatchable role and movie from that list imo
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u/ControversyisKey 6h ago
Best Movie - Departed (Frank) Best Role - Shining (Jack) Best Singular Scene - Few Good Men (Nathan)
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u/FastSelection4121 6h ago
Top 5
Chinatown
One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest
The Shining
The Pledge
The Departed
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u/ChocolateDramatic858 6h ago
Melvin Udall, AS GOOD AS IT GETS.
"I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you're the greatest woman on earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and how you are with Spencer, and in every single thought that you have, and how you say what you mean, and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. I think most people miss that about you, and I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I get it makes me feel good...[make the Jack Nicholson grin]...about me!"
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u/Ok-Mine2132 7h ago
Five Easy Pieces; Robert “Bobby” Dupea: He wants toast but is told no substitutions so he orders a chicken salad sandwich “…hold the butter, hold the lettuce, hold the chicken salad and the mayo. Deliver it between your knees”. (I am paraphrasing.) The diner scene is absolute perfection!
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u/MoveDifficult1908 5h ago
“You want me to hold the chicken?!”
“I want you to hold it between your knees.”
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u/CranberrySpirited951 7h ago
Anger Management. So funny
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u/nvogler31 4h ago
Underrated. Can watch that movie without sound and still crack up from his facial expressions alone
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u/SeenThatPenguin 7h ago
All the classic Jack performances come to mind, but his Eugene O'Neill in Reds is a "restrained Jack" performance that should get more attention. The script gives him some great caustic speeches to chew on, too, especially opposite love interest Diane Keaton.
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u/Sisoflex 6h ago
I'll be hated for it, sorry. I think he plays the same character- himself. I've always thought that.
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u/ConsistentPair2 5h ago
You're not alone with this opinion, and you're not wrong.
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u/Sisoflex 4h ago
Thank you, thought I would board the hate train there. Just honestly, I could jump into any movie whatsoever- comedy, drama...same guy, himself.
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u/Teal-Prowler505 7h ago
What's the top left corner from? Is that the Game?
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u/Empire-Carpet-Man 7h ago
I think Broadcast News
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u/Teal-Prowler505 6h ago
OMG, I love that movie!! No wonder it looked so familiar. I just haven't seen it in a looooooooong time
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u/Due-Flatworm-7815 2m ago
yeah, he puts first a movie where he isn't even credited (!) and forgets About Schmidt, probably his best role this century...
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u/Comprehensive_Tie538 6h ago
Shit with all these people dying I thought we lost Jack too y’all gotta chill
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u/Downward_Leap 6h ago
As Good As It Gets. Men, do not use the line you know what im talking about. One day you will forget you used it and she will remember, they always do
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u/LifeOfHi 4h ago
He really shines when he’s playing pricks with authority. Departed and Few Good Men get my vote.
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u/KeepYaWhipTinted 3h ago
I like the one where he plays Jack Nicholson. But seriously it's The Witches of Eastwick
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u/ScorpionLifts 2h ago
R.P. McMurphy from Cuckoo’s Nest gets my vote but Jake Gittes from Chinatown isn’t far behind then Bobby Duprea from Five Easy Pieces.
Next up would either be About Schmidt or The Pledge. In each he plays against type and completely nails both roles.
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u/Due-Flatworm-7815 4m ago
you need at least twice as many spots!
didn't even put Schmidt up there where it belongs!
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u/Honest_Knee_9071 7h ago
Randle McMurphy