'PIECES' ON EARTH Nicholson works the land
Five Easy Pieces: Everett Collection
Jack Nicholson
SCREEN GEM: Five Easy Pieces (1970)COSTARS Karen Black, Sally Struthers
PREMISE Bobby Dupea (Nicholson) rebels against parental authority, abandoning his future as a concert pianist to work in an oil field. This is the film with the famous chicken-salad-sandwich scene: ''Hold it between your kneeeees,'' Jack utters to a diner waitress who won't let him order plain toast.
FUN FACT The title refers to a piano music instruction book.
WHY IT'S GREAT ''Pieces'' continues Nicholson's tradition -- from ''Easy Rider'' to ''About Schmidt'' -- of classic road trip films, but it's here that he really hones his signature persona: rebellious, subversive, ornery, volatile, unsatisfied, and perversely charming.
