THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS — THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

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Co-writer/director Bob Rafelson's satirical take on the pathetic state of the American psyche (post Viet Nam) finds its level in the faded glory of Atlantic City.

The brotherly bond between Bruce Dern's conman Jason and Jack Nicholson's radio storyteller David, gets filtered through bi-polar prostitute Sally (Ellen Burstyn) and similarly employed step-daughter Jessica (Julia Anne Robinson).

Atlantic City enjoys a last gasp of now long-ago-destroyed grand hotel casinos.

The nagging demands of capitalism chew and gnaw at the underpinnings of Rafelson's flawed characters.

No apologies are made.

Surreal elements punctuate the drama created by characters doomed to misunderstand one another, and the social pressures they suffer. 

Rated R. 103 mins.