This is the film that put Bogdanovich on the map, and it's probably his most notable film. The dead-end existence in a small town is well conveyed, and the film shows how sex is used as an escape and for a sense of connection. The sex in the film pointedly lacks eroticism, and the only couple that finds warmth and connection is Sonny(Timothy Bottoms) and Ruth(Cloris Leachman). Bottoms and Leachman are persuasive and moving, and the film belongs to them. Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, and Ben Johnson are fine but their characters are too often made to spout life's lessons. Shepherd in her first role looks right as Jacy, and Jeff Bridges is likable and convincing as Duane. Though I find the film a bit too drab, the film has integrity in its refusal to romanticize, and rightly avoids the glossiness of Peyton Place(57). However, not all of the characters or situations here are particularly interesting or adequately explored, and many of the townspeople seem to exist only when the principles are around. Jacy's father is barely glimpsed,and ditto Duane's mother and Sonny's father. Though many of the situations and types portrayed here are familiar from TV and film, The Last Picture Show is admirable in that its portrayal is without judgment or glamorization. Worthwhile film with some memorable scenes. Texasville, released 20 years later, is a pointless and unnecessary sequel.
Review of The Last Picture Show
