Jack Nicholson's Surprising 90s Film That Struggled And His Quiet Life Today

Jack Nicholson is easily one of the most recognizable movie stars in Hollywood's long history. He really made a name for himself in the late 1960s with his different character roles. Then he starred in some of the biggest Movies of the 1970s. He became a name everyone knew. He was famous for his natural way of acting which was very different from the more formal acting styles of earlier times. Nicholson helped lead the New Hollywood era. Many of his movies are thought to be among the best ever, and that is mostly because of his acting.

Even after the New Hollywood era faded away Jack Nicholson kept giving great performances. He showed off his acting as he got older. The 80s and 90s were still strong years for this acting legend. He took on unusual roles like The Joker in Batman. He also played more quiet parts such as in The Crossing Guard. Even if the movies themselves were not always perfect, you could always count on Nicholson to deliver a performance that could make any script better. However he was not always a big success at the box office in the 1990s. The disappointing performance of one of his films from that time is still quite a surprise today.

Jack Nicholson's Noir Sequel That Did Not Get The Attention It Deserved

Looking Back At The Two Jakes And Why It Failed To Find Its Audience

Almost two decades after the classic Chinatown came out in 1974, Nicholson returned to play Jake Gittes again in 1990’s The Two Jakes. This noir sequel takes place 10 years after the first movie ended. It follows the private investigator as he gets caught up in another case much bigger than he thought. Even though critics mostly gave it good reviews, The Two Jakes was a financial disaster. It only earned $10 million against a $25 million budget. Movies are always a bit of a gamble, but The Two Jakes really should not have done so badly.

Nicholson, who also directed the movie, slips back into the role of Gittes quite easily. He even builds on the character who is still tired from his last case. It is clear that the private investigator in The Two Jakes has grown since his tough experience in the 1940s. The movie’s new setting in the 1950s is subtle but works well. The Two Jakes looks like a great noir film. However, its story, while having many twists and turns like a classic noir, does not quite compare to the 70s original.

There are many reasons why The Two Jakes did not find an audience. A big part of it is simply that it came out in 1990. The movie had been stuck in development for many years. 1990 might have been the worst year to release a sequel to Chinatown. The early 1990s were definitely against looking back at the past. If it had come out later in the decade or earlier in the 1980s, The Two Jakes might have been a big hit. Unfortunately the film arrived at a time when nobody wanted it.

Jack Nicholson's 90s Filmography Was A Mixed Bag Of Hits And Misses

How The Legendary Actor Navigated A Decade Of Changing Tastes In Hollywood

Even though he was getting closer to the end of his amazing career, Nicholson was very busy throughout the 1990s. However the movies he made during that decade were a bit uneven. There were more disappointments than big successes. The Two Jakes was Nicholson’s first film of the 1990s. He then had a busy 1992 with three movies. A Few Good Men is considered one of Nicholson’s best movies. But Hoffa and Man Trouble were huge failures at the box office.

Other films from the 90s include Wolf (1994) which was a different kind of role for Nicholson. It was a box office success despite mixed reviews. Quiet thrillers like The Crossing Guard (1995) and Blood and Wine (1996) let Nicholson show his wide acting skills. But these movies received mixed reviews and did not make much money. The Evening Star (1996) was a sequel to his Oscar-winning 80s film Terms of Endearment. This late sequel also did not do well. Mars Attacks! (1996) was a fun movie that later became a cult favorite. He finished the 90s with As Good as It Gets (1997) which earned him another Oscar and was a huge box office success.

When you look at the entire decade, The Two Jakes falls somewhere in the middle of his work. None of Nicholson's films from that time were truly bad. However many were just average or not very exciting. The 1990s was a time of exciting new art in film. Many of Nicholson’s movies felt a bit behind the times. The Two Jakes is no different. It struggled largely because it was a sequel to such a groundbreaking movie. Jack Nicholson did not take many risks in the 1990s and that is part of why many of his films from that time are not remembered today.

Jack Nicholson's Life Out Of The Spotlight: Family Time And Rare Public Sightings

The Hollywood Legend Prioritizes Loved Ones As He Embraces A More Private Existence

These days Jack Nicholson rarely makes public appearances. But he will always make time for his family. The beloved Oscar-winning actor, now 88, lives in Beverly Hills. He has six children. Nicholson shares his daughter Jennifer, 61, with his ex-wife Sandra Knight. He has a son Caleb, 54, with his Five Easy Pieces co-star Susan Anspach. His daughter Honey, 43, is with model Winnie Hollman. And he has daughter Lorraine, 35, and son Ray, 33, with actress Rebecca Broussard. His youngest daughter Tessa, 30, is with Jennine Gourin.

Nicholson has appeared on screen in many classic movies. These include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Shining, The Departed, and Anger Management. While the Oscar winner has not officially said he is retired from acting his last film role was 15 years ago. It was in the 2010 romantic comedy How Do You Know. Of his six children, Nicholson seems to be closest to Lorraine and Ray. Both Lorraine and Ray have been seen with their father at several public outings in Los Angeles. These include basketball games and other special events.

"We’ve always gotten along,” he said in a 2010 interview. “I want to be inspirational, or some kind of good influence on them without overburdening them. It’s their time of life to find out who they are.” Earlier this year, Lorraine shared a look at her family’s holiday celebrations. She posted a sweet photo of her and Nicholson sharing a hug. Later that year Lorraine joined her dad for a rare outing at the SNL 50: The Anniversary Special. Nicholson sat in the crowd next to his daughter. He introduced his friend Adam Sandler to the stage. Sandler gave Nicholson a shout-out and thanked him for coming. "Yeah, baby! Let’s hear it for Jack, baby,” the comedian said. “Jack made it out tonight. Love you, brother.”

Ray did not make it to the SNL event but he has spoken openly about his bond with his father. He said he looked up to his dad. “We’re very different people, I was born in 1992, he was born in 1937. The things that affect me don’t necessarily affect him. Obviously, I love him. He’s my inspiration,” Ray told Deadline in October 2024. “I ate dinner with him every night. I studied it, that’s how I learned to be a human being. So, of course we’re gonna be kind of similar.”

Beyond his children Nicholson also offered his home to his ex Anjelica Huston during the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year. The pair had an on-and-off relationship from 1973 to 1990. They remain friends today. “I was in a car with three dogs, two cats, and the housekeeper [evacuating the wildfires], and he called and asked if I was all right and if I had someplace I was staying,” Huston, 73, told The Guardian. “That’s the bottom line with he and I – when the chips are down, he’s there.” It is clear that while he may be out of the public eye more often, his connections to those he cares about remain strong.

Jack Nicholson's Unexpected Early Career Television Appearances

Before The Big Movies, The Actor Had A Couple Of Roles On The Andy Griffith Show

Before his major movie roles in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Jack Nicholson made regular visits to Mayberry. That is right. Nicholson appeared in multiple episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. The guy who famously said "Here's Johnny" in The Shining also appeared in Season Eight’s "Opie Finds a Baby" episode. Nicholson played Mr. Garland, a man who showed up to claim a baby that Opie and his friend found. The sheriff warned him about abandoning his child again.

Nicholson also appeared a season later in "Aunt Bee, the Juror." In this episode he played Marvin Jenkins, a man accused of stealing a television set. Marvin explained that the TV was his and he was taking it for repair. He said he went through an open back door and then left with his TV. He ran away when someone called out about the supposed theft. Aunt Bee was the only one on the jury who voted "not guilty." The police later found out someone else robbed the store and Marvin was free. These early roles show a very different side of the actor before he became the Hollywood icon we know today. It is fun to think about his journey from these small TV parts to the major films he later starred in.