Five Easy Pieces a Denny's along Interstate 5 near Eugene, Oregon. Thirty years later, Nicholson performed a scene in the movie "About Schmidt" that drew from this scene; it was cut from the film but is available as a Deleted Scene in the DVD release. Nicholson's character in "About Schmidt", an emotionally downtrodden retiree, in contrast, humbly accepts the waitress's "no substitutions" rule. The opening credits list the five classical piano pieces played in the film and referenced in the title. Pearl Kaufman is credited as the pianist. Also listed are four songs sung by Tammy Wynette: "Stand by Your Man", "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "Don't
Jack Nicholson top five, including Nicholson's first for Best Actor. The role seemed perfect for Nicholson, with biographer Ken Burke noting that his "smartass demeanor balances his genuine concern for the treatment of his fellow patients with his independent spirit too free to exist in a repressive social structure". Forman allowed Nicholson to improvise throughout the film, including most of the group therapy sequences. Reviewer Marie Brenner notes that his bravura performance "transcends the screen" and continually inspires the other actors by lightening their mental illnesses with his comic dialogue. She describes his performance: Also in 1975, Nicholson starred in Michelangelo Antonioni's