The Two Jakes (1990)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Jack Nicholson

Writers (WGA):

Robert Towne (characters)
Robert Towne (written by)

Release Date:

10 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

They say money makes the world go round. But sex was invented before money.

Plot:

The sequel to Chinatown (1974) finds Jake Gittes investigating adultery and murder... and the money that comes from oil.

Plot Keywords:

Adultery | Murder | Orange Grove | Widow | Sequel

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	J.J. 'Jake' Gittes
Harvey Keitel	...	Julius 'Jake' Berman
Meg Tilly	...	Kitty Berman
Madeleine Stowe	...	Lillian Bodine
Eli Wallach	...	Cotton Weinberger
Rubén Blades	...	Michael 'Mickey Nice' Weisskopf
Frederic Forrest	...	Chuck Newty
David Keith	...	Det. Lt. Loach
Richard Farnsworth	...	Earl Rawley
Tracey Walter	...	Tyrone Otley
Joe Mantell	...	Lawrence Walsh
James Hong	...	Kahn
Perry Lopez	...	Captain Lou Escobar
Jeff Morris	...	Ralph Tilton
Rebecca Broussard	...	Gladys

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

88 Productions

Trivia:

John Hackett, who appears briefly as the murdered Mark Bodine, is Jack Nicholson's stand-in.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: "For Redheads Only" is backwards on the door in the salon when Gittes enters, revealing the use of a mirror image.

Quotes:

Gladys: Gosh dang it.

Movie Connections:

References Chinatown (1974)

Soundtrack:

Don't Smoke In Bed

A major disappointment

Although "Chinatown" is one of my favorite movies, I had put off seeing "The Two Jakes" for years because I kept hearing how bad it was. I finally summoned the courage to watch it, hoping to be pleasantly surprised. It was actually worse than I expected.

The best thing about "The Two Jakes" is the production design, which immerses us in a convincing re-creation of 1948 Los Angeles. Nothing has been overlooked, although some details seem forced (such as when J.J. Gittes carefully tunes his car radio to an episode of "The Whistler," but arrives at his office just seconds later). I've heard that an ATM is visible somewhere but I didn't catch it.

Unfortunately, period details aside, the film is just not very interesting. Towne's screenplay feels like a retread of "Chinatown," with oil substituted for water. Even some of the characters seem recycled (there's a sadistic gangster and a rich, powerful old guy). In contrast to the tight storytelling of "Chinatown," "The Two Jakes" is meandering and unfocused, with scenes and characters that serve no apparent purpose. Jack Nicholson's direction is thoroughly bland and unimaginative; it's easy to see why his directing career hasn't been successful.

By far the worst thing about "The Two Jakes" is the music score. "Chinatown" has a brilliant, haunting score by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith; his music is an integral part of that film's success. "The Two Jakes" was scored by Van Dyke Parks, whose previous credits include "Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird" and (surprise!) another Nicholson-directed film. His insipid score gives the film a made-for-TV feel.

With a more creative, disciplined director and a better composer, "The Two Jakes" could have been far better. However, the story has almost nothing new to tell us, and the same probably would have been true of the never-produced third film, "Cloverleaf." So it's probably a good thing that the failure of "The Two Jakes" killed off any chances of another sequel.