The Last Detail

Two career Navy officers (Jack Nicholson, Otis Young) receive orders to escort a young boatman (Randy Quaid) from Norfolk, Virginia to the brig in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to serve an eight year sentence. His crime: stealing forty dollars from the chapel's poor box. With layovers in New York City and Boston, the two veterans seize the opportunity to show the kid a good time while reflecting on the inhibitions of their own freedoms. Hal Ashby's The Last Detail is a funny and thought provoking road comedy thanks both to an insightful and foulmouthed screenplay by Robert Towne (though it doesn't come off as naturalistic as it intends) and three remarkable performances depicting characters with whom you either emulate or empathize.