ThiefHott Too much of everything

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Red-Barracuda Going' South is probably most famous as being a film directed by Jack Nicholson. It's a western about an outlaw called Henry Moon who is saved from execution by a sexually repressed woman who owns a gold mine. To his chagrin she immediately sets him to work there, needless to say they don't get along at first but then they do later on.This is essentially an odd couple film. It plays things consistently for laughs but like the majority of comedy westerns it really isn't too funny. Nicholson may be a great actor but he isn't a very good director. The pacing lags badly in the second half but the story isn't terribly engaging overall. It also stars a host of actors who would go on to become stars in the 80's such as Danny Devito, John Belushi and Christopher Lloyd. But despite the potential that this cast suggests, most have very under-developed roles and it feels suspiciously like Nicholson invited them along just so that he could have a laugh on set. The western itself was in decline by the late 70's in any case and Going' South didn't bring anything new to the table to help change that. It's a film that seems to have a minor cult reputation but I didn't think it was too good and it's certainly one of Nicholson's lesser film outings.

mishymisu1 This movie basically uses spousal rape as one of its main comedic devices. Now I turned it off at the point when he literally ties her to the bed and rapes her, but I cannot really imagine how that was eventually turned around into something endearing and funny. This movie not only squandered a wonderful cast and was consistently unfunny, it actually managed to be rather brutally disturbing and misogynistic. How so many people seem to find it a sweet family flick is beyond me. "I sure enjoyed canning those apricots last night" is not a funny joke when you know it refers to forcing an unwilling virgin to have sex with you in the hopes she will eventually learn to like it. Watching a peeping tom jerk off is not family fun. I honestly feel worse off for having watched half of this creepy "comedy" and am totally baffled by these positive reviews.

rickmantler One can't help but notice how Nicholson eventually gave up on concealing his hilariously obvious coke nose (to the untrained ear it just sounds like "allergies"- this is the usual excuse given, of course....). Over the counter allergy medicine can help with allergy symptoms. Nothing helps cocaine-blasted sinuses. Not even Scorsese could direct while coked up. Nicholson's attempt is considerably more disastrous. Take a second look at the cast (see Belushi) and it isn't hard to deduce what happened to this movie.Note that it gets steadily worse as the film progresses.I wasn't expecting a "great" movie being that this was Nicholson's only directing effort. I was just curious. I didn't expect something this bad. Yikes.

bd_gordon For some mysterious reason, this film failed to delight both critics and the public when it was first released in 1978, probably because it did not match the celluloid and writing quality of Nicholson's previous multi-million dollar funded blockbusters, "Chinatown", and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I first watched "Goin' South" on video back in 1987 when I was 26. I watched it with six other people, and we all laughed hysterically throughout this delightfully funny film (and we don't drink or take drugs). The critics, and sadly, Nicholsen's fans, completely missed the point of this great movie. It was Jack taking a break from the 'biz' to explore his directing gifts (though no Spielberg, he is capable) and due to the low budget, he makes up in performance what the Hollywood trimmings and glitz cannot provide. His co-stars, especially John Belushi in his first major film role, is absolutely hilarious. Every one of his films pale compared to his toothless, Mexican loser of a bandit impersonation. When I watch this movie every now and then, I can see why the critics were so hard on this film. Mary Steenburgen (in her first film role too) was not the right person to play the part of the prissy, virginal, and headstrong maiden who saves Jack from the gallows (some old Civil War law where a woman can save a condemned man by marrying him). She's just too bitchy, and none of us want to see the misguided, but lovable Jack treated this way. You kind of feel sorry for the guy, and this unintentionally brings the viewer down a little here and there (but not much!). Even though things change for the better, by that point in the film, you just don't care. If the film had a larger budget, they would have been able to afford an actress of the caliber of Julie Christie, Sally Fields, or even Goldie Hawn. There are times when Steenburgen just sort of sucks the life out of the scene, and if it weren't for Jack's over-the-top acting, even I might get annoyed. This being said, the film is still one of the best 90 minutes I can spend in front of the boob tube. I love it, and I think you will too.