“If you suck on a tit the movie gets an R rating. If you hack the tit off with an axe it will be PG.” —Nicholson*

After six Golden Globes, four British Academy Awards, three Oscars, and the grand prize in the form of his current 30-year-old girlfriend Lara Flynn Boyle of the acclaimed television series "The Practice," it's just plain obvious that there is something about Jack Nicholson. It is of little surprise that the average income from Nicholson's last 10 films is nearly over $45 million each. Simply put, he is one of a kind, as no other has ever managed to captivate global audiences in the same way. Practically nothing done by Nicholson has been ordinary; however, madmen, disturbed, erratic, neurotic, and pure evil characters have become something of a trademark for the now-seasoned actor. Rarely does Nicholson portray your average Joe; even his seemingly normal characters — such as the womanizing ex-astronaut from "Terms of Endearment" (1983) and his roles in Sean Penn's "The Pledge" and "The Crossing Guard" — turn out not so well-balanced after all. He's" made passionate love with bandages over his face ("Chinatown 1974), portrayed the sanest loon in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975), and scared everyone to pieces in a matter of five minutes of on-screen time in "A Few Good Men" (1992). His deliciously horny interpretation of the Devil in "The Witches of Eastwick" (1987) is, perhaps, the funniest role of his career, next to his Oscar-winning performance as an obsessive-compulsive, nasty-yet-sensitive, love-struck writer of the recent blockbuster "As Good As It Gets" (1997). Although his first big-screen lead was that of an attorney-gone-biking ("Easy Rider," 1969), he is probably best remembered by the general public for the cult classic "The Shining" (1980), where his character is driven to madness and murder by writer's block — or, perhaps, for creating the ultimate Joker in the only decent Batman movie ever made (1989). In contrast to the volume of unforgettable characters created by Nicholson over the years, "The Pledge" isn't extraordinary, but it is a solid, respectable performance indicative of this actor's unquestionable mastery.