History isn't always kind to the "noble failure." In the summer of 1990, Jack Nicholson walked onto the screen as J.J. Gittes for the first time in sixteen years, sporting a slightly thicker waistline and the same cynical glint in his eye. The movie was The Two Jakes, a sequel to Chinatown—a film so perfect people generally think touching it is a form of cinematic sacrilege.
It tanked.
Critics called it "convoluted." The box office was a ghost town. Honestly, the most famous thing about the movie for a long time wasn't the plot, but the fact that it nearly destroyed the friendship between Nicholson and legendary screenwriter Robert Towne. But if you actually sit down and watch it today, you'll see something that wasn't apparent in the 90s. It’s not just a sequel; it’s a meditation on what happens when the "cool" private eye grows up and realizes he can't outrun his ghosts.
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Why The Two Jakes Was Doomed Before the First Frame
You’ve gotta understand the baggage here. Chinatown (1974) was a miracle of four massive egos—Nicholson, Towne, producer Robert Evans, and director Roman Polanski—colliding to create lightning in a bottle. By the time they tried to get the band back together for the sequel in 1985, the vibes were... off.
Robert Evans, the "Kid Notorious" of Paramount, wanted to play the other "Jake" (Jake Berman). There was just one problem: he wasn't really an actor anymore. Robert Towne, who was set to direct, reportedly realized Evans couldn't handle the role and tried to fire him. The production imploded. Sets were literally being torn down while the actors were still in their trailers.
Legal hell followed. Paramount was out $4 million. Lawsuits flew from Kodak and crew members. For years, the project sat in a drawer like a cold case file.
When it finally resurfaced in 1988, Nicholson stepped in to direct because, basically, he was the only one who could keep the peace. He wasn't just starring; he was refereeing a decade-long grudge match. He later told Life Magazine that he was getting maybe two hours of sleep a night, rewriting the script with Towne in the wee hours because the original draft was a mess.
It’s About Oil, Not Water
If Chinatown was the story of how Los Angeles stole its water, The Two Jakes is about the post-WWII oil boom. The year is 1948. Gittes is rich now. He’s a veteran, he’s got a bigger office, and he spends more time on the golf course than in the gutter.
The plot kicks off when a client named Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel, who replaced Evans) kills his business partner during a "matrimonial" sting. It looks like a crime of passion. But in this world, nothing is ever that simple. It turns out the partner was caught in bed with Berman's wife, Kitty (Meg Tilly).
Here is where it gets heavy: Kitty is actually Katherine Mulwray.
Yeah, the "daughter/sister" from the first film. Suddenly, the oil conspiracy isn't just about money; it’s a direct link back to the trauma Gittes failed to prevent in the first movie. Nicholson plays this perfectly. He’s not the cocky guy with the bandaged nose anymore. He’s a man who realized that even when you win in LA, you lose.
The Style Gap: Polanski vs. Nicholson
A lot of the hate for this movie comes from the fact that it doesn't feel like the original. Roman Polanski’s Chinatown was sharp, mean, and voyeuristic. Nicholson’s direction is much more... let’s call it "moody jazz."
- The Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond (the guy behind Close Encounters) gives the film a golden, hazy glow. It’s beautiful, but it lacks the clinical coldness that made the 1974 film so terrifying.
- The Pacing: It’s slow. Like, really slow. Nicholson loves his actors, so he lets scenes breathe for an eternity.
- The Voiceover: Nicholson added a noir-style narration to explain the plot. Robert Towne hated this. He felt it was "hand-holding" the audience, but Nicholson argued the story was so complex (read: confusing) that people would be lost without it.
The Tragedy of the Missing Third Chapter
Most people don't realize this was supposed to be a trilogy. Towne’s grand vision was to track the history of Los Angeles through the "elements."
- Chinatown: Water.
- The Two Jakes: Oil/Fire.
- Gittes vs. Gittes: Air.
The third film was meant to take place in 1968. It would have focused on Gittes’ own divorce and the smog-choked era of the late 60s, possibly involving a fictionalized Howard Hughes. Because the second film flopped so hard, Paramount pulled the plug. We never got to see the end of the J.J. Gittes saga.
Interestingly, some of the ideas from the unmade third film—the "Cloverleaf" conspiracy and the focus on freeways—actually ended up in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Talk about a weird Hollywood hand-me-down.
Why You Should Give It a Second Chance
Is it a masterpiece? No. But it’s a deeply soulful movie about aging.
There’s a line Gittes says in the film: "In this town, I'm the leper with the most fingers." It’s classic Towne dialogue. It captures that specific Los Angeles brand of "I’ve seen too much to be good, but I’m too tired to be truly bad."
The performances are actually stellar. Harvey Keitel brings a weird, jittery energy that contrasts perfectly with Nicholson’s weary calm. Ruben Blades is great as a gangster, and Eli Wallach shows up just to remind everyone why he’s a legend.
The real reason to watch it, though, is the ending. It doesn't have the "Forget it, Jake" gut-punch of the first one, but it has something more mature. It’s an admission that you can’t fix the past. You just have to learn to live in the wreckage it leaves behind.
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How to approach The Two Jakes today:
- Don't compare it to the original. Treat it as a standalone "fifteen years later" character study.
- Pay attention to the background. The production design is incredible. It captures the transition from 30s Art Deco to the 40s/50s tract-home sprawl perfectly.
- Listen to the score. Jerry Goldsmith’s work here is more subtle than his iconic Chinatown theme, but it’s haunting in its own right.
- Look for the cameos. Watch for James Hong returning as Kahn and Perry Lopez as the now-promoted Captain Escobar.
If you want to understand the real Jack Nicholson—not the "Joker" or the "shining" madman, but the serious filmmaker who loved the craft—this is the movie to study. It’s a messy, beautiful, exhausting labor of love that deserved better than it got.
The best way to experience the film now is to watch Chinatown, wait exactly one week, and then put on The Two Jakes. Let the first one settle. Let the shock wear off. Then, go back into the smog and see what happened to the man who couldn't forget the girl.