The 1990s movies Jack Nicholson called his most harshly treated: “Those films were victims”
Jack Nicholson said The Two Jakes and Man Trouble were unfairly treated after both films failed commercially and received poor reviews in the early 1990s. He argued that hostile press coverage prevented them from finding an audience, blaming a changing, less literary cinema culture increasingly drawn to spectacle, violence and blockbuster entertainment.
The Two Jakes, which Nicholson directed, produced and starred in, followed Chinatown but disappointed at the box office in 1990. Man Trouble, released two years later with Meryl Streep, performed even worse and became the lowest-reviewed film of his career; Nicholson contrasted their reception with the success of Batman and the commercially stronger A Few Good Men.
- Nicholson defended two poorly received early-1990s films.
- He blamed hostile reviews and changing audience tastes.
- Blockbusters were increasingly eclipsing smaller dramatic films.