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Rating: 5 out of 5
High school can be a pressure for many or all kids. Looking back on high school, there were stresses in the world that really never needed to be there. First, you try to find your place within the school. There are many cliques within the school, but sometimes you just don’t have a place. There is pressure to do well at school and then maybe go to college or the military or find your own path. Gotta make sure those grades are up, or you could fail out. Then there is outside pressure. One pressure that arises is sex. Horny-ass high schoolers. Everyone starts talking about who they banged. With sex comes heartbreak and gossip and all the other bull shit.
I finally watched the Last Picture Show, which hits all the points of being a high school senior. Two friends find love, lose love, fight, drink, and everything else while living in a small ass town in Texas that couldn’t have no more than like 15 people. The drama that surrounds everyone is crazy. Directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry, this film has many baby-faced people. In the middle of nowhere, in the tiny ass town of Anarene, Texas, the world is at a standstill between WWII and the Korean War. Sonny (Bottoms) and Duane (Bridges) are best friends. They are in an awkward period of their lives between being a boy and turning into a man. The two friends spend their time going to the movie house, playing football, where they get dominated, and as Jay-Z sings about, Girls, Girls, Girls! Duane is dating Jacy (Shepherd), a fine-ass girl who is rich and wanted by every boy. Homegirl knows it. Jacy’s dad is rich, and her mom (Burstyn) is good-looking and loose as a goose. The talk around town is that whoever wins Jacy’s heart will be set for all time. Sonny and Duane realize that Anarene and life there are slowly dying as many of the townspeople are moving to the big cities for a better living. The boys are torn about their future once they graduate. As graduation comes closer, difficult lessons arise about love, loneliness, and jealousy.
I want to personally say that I was very impressed with the story and what happened throughout the film. It seemed to touch upon so many topics with growing up. I don’t know where to start because each one seems so intertwined with the other. How about this, we begin with each character and their love lives.
Let’s start this review with Sonny. The film seemed to revolve around him. Sonny is a good kid, but it seems like he doesn’t know where to go. He sucks ass at football, but it doesn’t seem to faze him. He is with some girl at the beginning of the film, but he dumps her because she won’t let him hit it. Sonny’s love life goes from her to Ruth Popper, the coach’s wife. Ruth is unwanted, and she and Sonny start an affair. It’s a little awkward at first, but after a while, Ruth falls in love with Sonny, and they bang all the time. Duane is dating Jacy, but they really don’t get it on. Duane seems like a good guy but is extremely protective of Jacy and gets jealous often. Jacy is a hoe. Hoe is the wrong word now because she is sexually liberated, and all she wants to be wanted by everyone. She sleeps with anyone and plans things to make sure all attention is on her. She becomes sexually liberated when she goes to a strip pool party. When that happened, Jacy couldn’t keep her panties on.
Yet, sex doesn’t stop anyone from getting jealous. Sonny seems to drop Ruth without any word. I would say it is sad because Ruth truly cares about Sonny, and you see a new glow in her but homegirl is married. Jacy becomes a SUPER FREAK!!! She does it to get attention. She wants to hook up when she meets a hot boy at a party, but he says he doesn’t sleep with virgins. Fuck you bitch. Jacy tries to hook up with Duane, but that fails the first time and is uneventful the second time. Then she sleeps with her mom’s lover, who hooks up with her on a pool table and is cold to her. She tries to play it off but is hurt. After a tiff between Sonny and Duane, she marries Sonny because it is clickbait and news.
There is also finding one’s place in the world, and it tells a wonderful story. Sonny and Duane have no idea what they want to do. They think they want to go into the service but also leave the small ass town. The boys spend their time in the movie house but also the pool house. Sonny and Duane also go to Mexico, get drunk as hell, and disappear for a month. When they return, they learn that Sam died suddenly of a stroke. In his will, he left the movie theater to the woman who ran the concession stand; the café to Genevieve; $1,000 to the preacher’s son, Joe Bob Blanton; and the pool hall to Sonny.
The film goes into jealousy as all the characters feel it. The major one was between Duane and Sonny when Duane thinks Sonny is hooking up with Jacy after she breaks up with him. Sonny is banging Ruth, Duane. The two friends get into a fight where Duane breaks a bottle on Sonny’s eye, leaving it damaged and blind. After that, Duane and Sonny don’t talk. It is only when Sonny joins the army and goes off to the Korean War that they make up.
I want to say that I wasn’t expecting all the nudity in this film. When the first girl popped out a boob, I was like, okay. Couldn’t believe this passed the rating test. When homegirl stepped out of the pool with nothing on and you saw some dude dicks, you wondered if this was a softcore porn. The one who did it for me was Cybil Shepherd, who was nude. This was her first and only time being naked on screen, and it was all worth it. It was such a shock and surprise that I couldn’t believe she had done it.
The film has an ensemble cast. First, the film has three academy award winners (Bridges, Burstyn, and Leachman (who won for this role). Timothy Bottoms as Sonny Crawford is pretty good. I was impressed with his performance; he played the character so well that it was an art. Jeff Bridges, as Duane Jackson, was the cool dude who just seemed like he wanted to go through life having fun and loving his girl.
Let’s talk about the ladies for a second. Ellen Burstyn as Lois Farrow was first off beautiful and had so much sex appeal about her. She is not in the movie too much, but damn, when she’s on, she is sexy. Cybill Shepherd as Jacy Farrow was a pleasure to watch. As the film went on, she came on her own. She went to being a wild child and one that loved sex. Finally, Cloris Leachman, as Ruth Popper, was the one that stole the show. She was a woman that wanted love and affection. She was a woman that wanted to be cared for, and when she found it, it turned out to be in a boy. She finally lost her cool but took that punk ass back. She deserved her award.
The Last Picture Show is one that should be watched as it hits all young adults. The story is fantastic, and the drama is where it is at. The acting was top-notch and really propelled this film forward. Also, the film has nudity that will surprise you. Watch this film and remember your time in high school.
