Five Easy Pieces (1970)

At the start of the film we're introduced to Jack Nicholson's character, an oil rigger who lives in a trailer park with his waitress girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black). Jack goes out drinking and fools around with other women (including Sally Struthers), while Rayette dreams of becoming a country singer.

Jack learns that his father is not in good health, so he travels to to his hometown on a road trip with Rayette.

As the movie unfolds, we learn that Jack comes from a more upper class family, and at one point in his life he was interested in becoming a pianist, which he didn't pursue.

I like how Jack's character interacts with his sister (Susan Anspach) and his father who doesn't recognize him anymore.  His brother is played by Ralph Waite.

While the film focuses on Jack's point-of-view mainly, I think Rayette is an equally important and memorable character in the film.

Her character seems to represents a life that Nicholson wants to put behind, but he doesn't know how.

The ending is open-ended and sad and leaves you wondering what will become of the characters.

I cared more about what would happen to Rayette than I did Jack's character.  I didn't like Jack's character. He may move on to pursue he dreams, but the way he treats Rayette throughout the movie is pretty awful. After all of the time he spent with his family, he still remains selfish and impulsive up until the very end. 

The movie Nashville (1975) features a character that longs to be a country singer (Barbara Harris' character); in the end of the film, she leads the entire crowd in song after a tragedy. I like to think that her character and Rayette from Five Easy Pieces are the same people. 

Another review of this movie from What I Watched Last Night

You're A Big Boy Now (1966)

One of Francis Ford Coppola's very first full-length feature films, a coming of age comedy about lonely, virginal, nebbish young Bernard (Peter Kastner) who works in the library (on roller skates!) and has only one thing on his mind: girls! And not just any library, it's the New York Public Library. In fact, the city itself is one of the film's co-stars: lots of scenes in and around the streets of NYC and Central Park. Bernard's dad (Rip Torn) is also his boss in the library, always looking down on him and calling him "big boy". He has a buddy who teaches him about girls, smoking, and getting high. One day he sees a beautiful actress (Elizabeth Hartman) sitting on the "Alice" sculpture in Central Park, only to see her again and again in the days to come. Lonely, he paces the streets of New York and runs into his co-worker (Karen Black) who secretly has a crush on him. She finds him in a private peep show just as he gets his tie stuck in the machine. They walk the streets together and we're treated to scenes of NYC nightlife and movie picture marquee lights: some theaters showing a double feature of "Shenandoah" and "Father Goose", another showing "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming".

The hand-held camera work and quick-edits is done in a style that was not uncommon for its time. Coppola was able to recruit numerous other well-known stars for this film in other supporting roles: Michael Dunn (Ship of Fools) as Elizabeth Hartman's fellow bohemian in the theater scene, Geraldine Page as Bernard's overprotective, manipulative, pushy, controlling mother, legendary Julie Harris as Bernard's landlady, and Dolph Sweet ("Gimmie a Break!") as the landlady's handyman. Bernard rebels at the end, throwing a fit in the library in front his parents which leads to a madcap, screwball-esque chase through the NY Library and the streets, ending up in a department store. Additional info: Songs are by the Loving Spoonfools. Page was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. This was one of just a handful of motion pictures that Canadian-actor Peter Kastner appeared in. He retired from acting for many years, and died in November of 2008. It was rumored that he was being considered for the lead in the "Graduate". He'd be a good choice; you gotta see this film. It's like a "60's" time capsule.