Sex, Classical Piano, Waitresses, Diners and Toast

Bob Rafelson’s “Five Easy Pieces” (1971) isn’t about actions. It’s about behavior. 

That was heady stuff in 1971 but it’s out of place in 2018, when “showrunners” babble freely about “story arcs” and everybody wants to know the “origin story” of the super-hero du jour.

Jack Nicholson plays Bobby Eroica Dupree, classically trained pianist, drifter, and all-around jerk. He admits to all three.

He’s shacked up with Rayette (Karen Black), a waitress who does a passable Tammy Wynette impersonation.

Bobby works on oil rigs, drinks too much, says mean things to and cheats on Rayette, and goes bowling.

Then he abruptly chucks the oil rig gig and looks up his family, all classical musicians, who live on an island in Washington state. Rayette gets stashed in a motel until she runs out of money, and then shows up in time for a snooty intellectual party guest to make fun of her.

There’s some sex. And a whole busload of talking ­—especially from a proto-social justice warrior Bobby and Rayette pick up on the highway.

There are three famous scenes that have worn fairly well — the traffic jam, the argument about toast in a diner, and the final scene, where Bobby cuts himself loose yet again.

Watching this movie in 2018 requires conscious effort. It is slow. The characters are mostly unpleasant and/or uninteresting people. Nothing really happens. 

As a work of cinema it isn’t particularly noticeable in terms of technique and style — except that it doesn’t seem to have much of either. 

The movie feels as cramped and unsatisfactory as Bobby’s life. 

What carries it are the performances of Nicholson and Black. 

Is it worth seeing on the big screen? Sure — it’s not likely to happen again soon. 

And it’s interesting to see what got the cutting edge types excited back in ‘71. 

“Five Easy Pieces” will be presented by the Boondocks Film Society at Gedney Farm in New Marlborough, Mass. on Thursday, Dec. 13. The film will be preceded by a musical performance by James Felice and Alison Olender. Film-inspired cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. For more information see www.boondocksfilmsociety.org.