Review of Goin' South (1978) by Stuart K — 24 Mar 2011

Directed by Jack Nicholson, who at the time of release, was maybe one of the biggest movie stars in the world. This was a small, personal film for him, a light hearted western comedy which could have seen Nicholson become an actor/director like Clint Eastwood.

Instead it was a flop, and Nicholson rarely went behind the camera since, pity really. It has Nicholson as outlaw Henry Lloyd Moon, who is captured and sentenced to be hanged for bank robbery and the theft of horses and cattle.

At his hanging, he pleads for a second chance, claiming he was a Civil War hero, and he is spared from hanging by Julia Tate (Mary Steenburgen, in her film debut), who says she'll marry him, when in actual fact, she needs him to work in a gold mine which is on her land.

Set free, Henry goes to work with Julia, though he's not allowed to drink or cause trouble, Deputy Sheriff Towfield (Christopher Lloyd) and Deputy Hector (John Belushi) have a watchful eye on Henry.

Also, Julia is a prudish virgin, who ignores Henry's boorish behaviour, while the search for gold seems hopeless, as it's the only hope Julia has of keeping her home and land. It does have some funny moments, and Nicholson does well as actor/director, it does tend to drag.

Though it does have support from Danny DeVito, Veronica Cartwright and Ed Begley Jr., the whole enterprise feels a bit smug.