I saw it when it first came out in the 1970's and thought it deserved more praise than it got. It is mostly an entertainment comedy with such lines as "You weren't that hard to find. You were standing in the middle of town with a rope around your neck." I read someplace where Mary Steenburgen had been working as a waitress in an Arizona dinner and Nicholson stopped in and thought she would be perfect for the part. I think there is some very touching scenes between Nicholson and Steenburgen that are well written and acted. Except for Christopher Lloyd the rest of the cast is wasted. I think the only reason John Belushi is in the movie is because Nicholson wanted to meet him. At that time Saturday Night Live was considered radical chic.

The critics slammed this movie when it came out, as I recall. Exceedingly lofty expectations for Jack the director or something, I don't know. I just know that 25 years has made this movie better. I liked it from the start, and it seems that the rest of the world is coming around.

There are slow sections of this film, to be sure. But the great lines! "I wouldn't take you to a dog fight if you was the defendin' champion!" "We were just sayin' how much we needed a figurine." "Good mornin', ladies! I SHORE ENJOYED them CANNED APRICOTS LAST NIGHT!!!"

It bears up well to repeated watchings. What higher rating can a movie have?

If you realize that a movie critique represents an INDIVIDUAL'S opinion which may be very different from your own, you probably also don't take these comments too seriously. But - for what it's worth - here's mine re: Goin' South: I found it very entertaining (and I'm probably fussier than most when it comes to movies). That's what I value most in a film: entertainment. Any negative comments about this flick come from the more erudite crowd which knows or looks deeper for such things. I was even able to get past Nicholson's character's need for a good nose-blowin', which usually really bothers me, but, in this case, I found it utterly hilarious. We're gonna leave out recapping the plot - THAT'S pretty well taken care of not too far from here. But I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to write something good about this picture because I think that it richly deserves it.