As a nation founded on rebellion, America's always had a soft spot for its rebels, from James Dean to Jesse James to Benedict Arnold--well, alright, maybe not so much that last one. Still, we love to see people fight against the powers that be in an entertaining way, and that's where R.P. McMurphy comes in.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest takes us into a mental institution where fun-loving McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), while feigning insanity, proceeds to wreak havoc against the tyrannical and frighteningly calm Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) and her rule over the ward. McMurphy attempts to cure his fellow patients with unorthodox treatments like pickup basketball games and sneaking off for a day of fishing.

The cast is what truly drives this movie. The various mental patients each add a dark humor to the scenes, providing the punch lines in their responses to McMurphy's set-ups. One particularly memorable scene involves McMurphy introducing them as doctors, followed by close-ups of every patient's face, complete with what they presume to be a very doctorly look. Nicholson and Fletcher both earned Oscars for their performances in this movie, and it's not hard to see why. For every bit of a wild, anarchistic yet strangely noble person that Nicholson portrays, Fletcher is his icy opposite--unwaveringly calm and collected even in the midst of madness.

If there is a flaw to this movie, it is in how it bends reality to put out its parable of rebellion. All of the residents of the ward, besides McMurphy, act as little more than comic foils. The only exception is the Chief (Will Sampson), who talks quietly with McMurphy at one point about his father, providing the only real window to the men behind the crazy faces.

The scenarios too can feel forced, created simply for effect while temporarily suspending reality. The fishing boat scene, for instance, while acting as McMurphy's triumphant strike against Ratched, places the mental patients in a situation where they would realistically never have gotten into in the first place. All of a sudden, the agoraphobe is not only outside, he's on a boat in the middle of the ocean! It's just a little too neat, a little too obvious to really work. McMurphy needs the crushing presence of the ward to shine, needs Ratched there to give him a stern eye. Out on the water, this dramatic tension is completely forgotten.

These bouts of inconsistency can be overlooked, however, for what is truly a fantastic film. It is a manipulative film, this is true (indeed, you will find yourself cheering for things that you normally abhor), but it is admirable in its manipulation. Highly recommended.