Hal Ashby’s Navy comedy-drama THE LAST DETAIL is pretty straight on paper: Young seaman Larry Meadows stole from a charity favored by the boss’s wife, and longtimers Billy "Badass" Buddusky and Richard "Mule" Mulhall are his ferrymen to the prison where Meadows will spend the next eight years of his life (or maybe six). Before they get there, Badass and Mule are determined to show Meadows one last good time.

Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, and Randy Quaid power through a drunken odyssey trying to forget their destination — and the lives waiting for each of them after the deed is done. It’s a hugely funny, heartfelt movie that still manages to be a classic ‘70s bummer. In this discussion, we delve into the different classes each of the leads represent, the escapades they use to distract themselves, their earnest yearning to leave an impact on each other, and their doomed efforts to change a foregone conclusion.

References:

• Upcoming Cult Film Collective screenings at the Trylon, dedicated to projecting and preserving 35mm and 16mm film prints
• “The Triangle of Discontent in The Last Detail” by Jackson Stern for Perisphere, the Trylon blog
• “The Last Detail, the Weight of Time” by Ryan Sanderson for Perisphere, the Trylon blog
• Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices!
• Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets
• Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog

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Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “American Patrol” composed by FW Meacham and performed by the United States Marine Band.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 348: THE LAST DETAIL (1973)

3:01 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

7:55 - Stories about misuse of justice

28:58 - Mulhall, Buddusky, and race relations

33:07 - “You know what I mean?”: How the men relate to each other and civilian life

47:07 - The Nichiren Shoshu and the spiritual journey happening in parallel

1:01:02 - Meadows’s turning point

1:03:37 - The ending

1:20:01 - The Junk Drawer

1:32:23 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1973

1:40:09 - Cody’s Noteys: Wikiloves: The Last Detail (Jack Nicholson movie trivia from Wikipedia summaries)