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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest vs. Send Help: Pecking Order
05/14/2026
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest vs. Send Help: Pecking Order
Two movies about the dehumanizing nature of power and the surprising freedom of being boxed in — it's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest vs. Send Help. This week, Emily puts a beloved classic up against a 2026 sleeper hit that she firmly believes should sweep the Oscars. On one side: the 1975 five-time Oscar winner One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. On the other: Sam Raimi's Send Help, starring Rachel McAdams aka the thinking man's Jack Nicholson. Both films ask what happens to people when systems strip them of their humanity and what they do when they finally claw some power back. Spoiler: they don't always use it nicely. Emily breaks down why Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched is more terrifying in her subtlety than in her reputation, why Brad Dourif deserved that Oscar, and is shocked to learn that Christopher Lloyd was a hunk. Then she makes the case for Send Help, a survival horror comedy that does magical heartbreaking work with a chunk of tuna. Also covered: Jack Nicholson's bro-noir filmography, method acting gone too far, and the frustration of how people who play the game better earn our trust over the people that are actually competent. Referenced in the episode:
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