The Films of Jack Nicholson Trivia Quiz

Answer: As Good As It Gets

Nicholson is a misanthropic obsessive-compulsive novelist in New York City. He dines at the same restaurant everyday where most of the staff refuse to serve him but Helen Hunt tolerates his verbal abuse. Hunt is also a neighbor. When he is forced to care for a dog, Hunt begins to see him in a different light. An up and down romance begins that is culminated when he tells her, "You make me want to be a better man." Both Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won Oscars for their performances.

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Jack plays Randle McMurphy, a petty criminal who has been sent to a mental hospital to evaluate his mental status. Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) is a steely tyrant who intimidates her patients to keep order. McMurphy, however, can not be cowed. Instead he becomes the leader of the downtrodden patients, all brilliantly cast character actors. Much to the ire of Nurse Ratched, he leads them on several adventures that are disruptive to the order of the ward. Because of his behavior he is given a lobotomy and eventually smothered to death as an act of mercy by a fellow patient called Chief, who is the one who flew over the cuckoo's nest.

Rotten Tomatoes: 94%

Answer: His son

Jack Torrance (Nicholson) and his wife and son arrive at the secluded hotel where he is to become the winter caretaker. He has been warned about previous events but he sees it as a chance to write his novel. His son Danny has telepathic powers and sees some of the horrors of the past but can do little about them. Eventually, Jack becomes more withdrawn and under the spell of an evil spirit and attempts to murder his family. They manage to escape his axe and he is found later frozen.

Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

Answer: Nose

The film is augmented with some steaming sex including the relationship of Faye Dunaway (Evelyn Cross Mulwray) and her father, Noah Cross (John Huston). Although the film is fictional, the water issues still persist today. In 1913 the area began to create reservoirs from the Sierra Mountains and later from the Colorado River and the search continues for reliable water resources.

Rotten Tomatoes: 99%

Answer: Easy Rider

"Easy Rider" (1968) was a classic collaborative effort. The screenplay was written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. Peter Fonda was the producer; Dennis Hopper was the director. Fonda and Hopper both co-starred as cocaine dealers traveling across the southwest. Nicholson plays George, who joins them on the road to New Orleans because George knows of a brothel there he wants to visit. They introduce him to marijuana and LSD. The three are attacked by rednecks with baseball bats and George is killed. They dispose of his body and head for The House of Blue Light as a tribute to George and later meet their own fiery fate.

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Answer: Little Shop of Horrors

In the final shot we see a happy smiling Nicholson through a mass of blood and broken teeth. John Herman Shaner played the dentist. In the 1986 musical remake the roles were filled by Bill Murray as the masochist and Steve Martin as the dentist.

The main theme of the 1960 film is feeding a plant that is a carnivore. At first, blood satisfied its appetite but as it grew, it demanded an entire corpse. "Feed me!" the plant cried.

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Answer: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba

Private Santiago is not physically up to the standards of military preparedness. As a result he applies for transfer but the officers try one more attempt to bring him up to standard by assigning some fellow Marines to train him. A mishap occurs and he is found dead. They are charged with murder. Marine Commander Colonel Nathan R. Jessup's (Nicholson) testimony is key. On the stand he stresses the importance of having well trained military personnel and when challenged in his testimony, he retorts, "You can't handle the truth."

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

Answer: His concert piano training

Although he tinkles on the piano for his own amusement, he never reveals the depth of his training and talent. When he receives information that his father is dying, he and his current girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black) head to Washington state. He asks her to stay at a motel but she shows up at the family home. He finds his father in deep dementia and has an affair with his brother's wife. Finally, he leaves and gives Rayette his wallet and thumbs a ride.

Also famous is his technique of ordering a piece of toast. Since he must order from the menu: "chicken salad sandwich on toast... without mayonnaise, butter, lettuce, or chicken". He tells the server what she can do with the rest of the ingredients.

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Answer: About Schmidt

Warren Schmidt is a retired and widowed insurance man. He senses a new freedom and does things that his wife had rules about, such as leaving the toilet seat up. She also insisted that he buy a Winnebago Travel Home for their retirement. He finds out that his wife was having an affair and he seeks a measure of revenge. Since his daughter is getting married in Denver, he decides to drive the Winnebago there although he has never driven one before. He has a number of adventures and misadventures till finally arriving in Denver where he meets the groom's mother, Roberta Hertzel (Kathy Bates). Learning that he is a widower, she sets her sights on him as her next husband, hence the nude hot tub scene.

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

Answer: Randy Quaid

Meadows was incarcerated for stealing forty dollars from a charity event hosted by the base commander's wife, hence he got more than usual attention. As Buddusky and Mulhall get to know him, they find a shy, inexperienced and naïve young man. As the trio begin the trip, they decide to bring Meadows up-to-date on wine, women, and song, opening his eyes to a carousing life style. Although they are able to bring him to the prison, in spite of some escape attempts, they cover up for him.

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%