{"id":2177,"date":"2007-01-26T14:50:14","date_gmt":"2007-01-26T21:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2177"},"modified":"2021-01-20T23:54:52","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T06:54:52","slug":"king-of-marvin-gardens-the-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2177","title":{"rendered":"King of Marvin Gardens, The (1972)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You notice how it&#8217;s Monopoly out there?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-28456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Poster.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA radio d.j. (Jack Nicholson) visits his petty-gangster brother (Bruce Dern) in Atlantic City, where he learns about Dern&#8217;s unrealistic plan to &#8220;get-rich-quick&#8221; by buying property in Hawaii.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bob Rafelson Films<\/li>\n<li>Bruce Dern Films<\/li>\n<li>Ellen Burstyn Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters and Criminals<\/li>\n<li>Get Rich Quick<\/li>\n<li>Jack Nicholson Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Siblings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIn his follow-up to <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44173\"><em>Five Easy Pieces<\/em> (1970)<\/a>, director Bob Rafelson presents a similarly no-holds-barred look at family relations and broken dreams in America. Unfortunately, however, <em>Marvin Gardens<\/em> comes across as too relentlessly bleak for its own good &#8212; while <em>Five Easy Pieces<\/em> had many classic moments of humor interspersed with its more serious themes (remember the cafe scene?), this film seems hell-bent on leading us towards its tragic conclusion, without providing much relief along the way. On the other hand, it does possess a number of redeeming features. The performances are uniformly excellent &#8212; especially by the always-reliable Dern, and by Ellen Burnstyn as his jealous aging girlfriend. Additionally, Rafelson makes effective use of Atlantic City&#8217;s gloomy seaside ambiance; and the connections between Dern&#8217;s wild dreams (he hopes to buy a hotel) and Monopoly are subtle enough to be clever rather than cloying. Ultimately, however, this remains a ceaselessly downbeat tale, one which is probably not for every taste. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bruce Dern as Nicholson&#8217;s &#8220;big-dreaming&#8221; brother<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern-1024x567.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"354\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern-1024x567.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern-768x425.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern-1536x851.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Dern.png 1713w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ellen Burstyn&#8217;s stand-out performance as Dern&#8217;s middle-aged lover<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn-1024x571.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn-1536x857.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/King-of-Marvin-Gardens-Burstyn.png 1715w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo. While it&#8217;s considered an underrated classic by many, it&#8217;s ultimately not must-see viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0068805\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1972\/10\/13\/archives\/film-fete-the-king-of-marvin-gardens-arrives.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/the-king-of-marvin-gardens-1972\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/78735.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You notice how it&#8217;s Monopoly out there?&#8221; Synopsis: A radio d.j. (Jack Nicholson) visits his petty-gangster brother (Bruce Dern) in Atlantic City, where he learns about Dern&#8217;s unrealistic plan to &#8220;get-rich-quick&#8221; by buying property in Hawaii. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Bob Rafelson Films Bruce Dern Films Ellen Burstyn Films Gangsters and Criminals Get Rich Quick Jack Nicholson Films Love Triangle Siblings Review: In his follow-up to Five Easy Pieces (1970), director Bob Rafelson presents a similarly no-holds-barred look at&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2177\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2177"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64861,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions\/64861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}