One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a movie about authority. It concerns anti-establishment ideals that were common to the 1970s. It is a very popular movie. Many consider it an all-time classic. It is funny and somber at the same time. It won five major academy awards in 1975. A mental hospital is the setting for the movie. It was filmed in a real hospital in Oregon.
Jack Nicholson plays the lead role. He portrays Randle McMurphy brilliantly. McMurphy is an anti-authority individual that has spent much time in jails. He gets into trouble when he finds out his girlfriend is fifteen. This lands him back in jail. He is sentenced to do time at a prison farm. He knows that this will mean a lot of hard work. To avoid that, he hatches a scheme. If he can get into a mental hospital, his time would be much easier. He tries very hard to convince the hospital staff of his insanity. Eventually they agree with him.
He arrives at the mental hospital. He looks around and sees an environment that he can control. The men seem meek and institutionalized. However, he runs into opposition. That opposing force is Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher. She rules with an iron hand. She uses intimidation and guilt to get the men do as she wishes. She seems more interested in controlling people than healing them.
Life in the mental hospital is dull. McMurphy decides to liven up the atmosphere. He plays poker with the men. He takes their cigarettes and spare cash. This does not impress Nurse Ratched. In one scene, he lobbies the men top vote for a television show. The World Series is on television and he wants to watch. There is only one TV and he must have a majority of votes to turn the channel. He gets a unanimous vote for the ballgame. Nurse Ratched refuses. She wants everyone to vote, even the ones out of touch with reality. He has to go to them and ask for votes. When he finally gets enough votes, she tells him that he is too late. Unable to do anything about it, he decides to watch an imaginary baseball game. It scores big with the men.
McMurphy bets an inmate that he can lift a large hydrotherapy machine. He struggles but cannot lift it. He is proud that he tried. This teaches the men the importance of effort. They look up to him as a leader.
He also goes on a deep-sea fishing expedition. He takes the inmates with him, on a bus. They have a fun adventure. When they return, there is a big fight with some orderlies. McMurphy and two others get shock therapy as punishment.
At one point, McMurphy finds out most of the inmates are there by their own choosing. This does not apply to him. Nurse Ratched can make him stay there indefinitely. He decides to behave better. Nevertheless, he cannot resist antagonizing her. They struggle for power all through the movie. You may be surprised at the ending.
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is well worth watching. It has good acting and is well written. Newcomers Danny Devito and Christopher Lloyd go on to successful careers.
Spider-Man isn’t the strongest superhero; that goes to Superman and the Hulk. coen brothers movie Filled with audacity ahead of his time, this character changed television forever. I won’t go into them here because you’ll kill me for spoiling the movie.


