What's the point of this?

There is no real plot, it is an existentialist movie. It.s really about this guy who has an identity crisis. Nicholson.s character doesn't know what to do with himself, where to go or who to befriend. He comes from this educated upper class background, but doesn.t like the uppish lifestyle. We see him get angry with that intellectual woman who was visiting, he even called her a "pompous celibate". So, clearly he doesn't know what he wants in life. He is irritated by that airhead low class girlfriend of his, and also irritated with pompous folks. He is confused. He is looking for a meaning to it all, just like we are for the movie lol.

He even says to his father that he doesn't know what to do.

This is not a film that will give you easy answers, but ask a lot of questions.

It's a 70's "us" generation take on the search for self and meaning, and in general is an attempt (more or less successful; your call) to achieve a depiction of something invisible. In a nutshell, the invisible thing in Three Easy Pieces is that, once you've figured out the search for meaning in a time or a place is futile, you can begin the search for peace in your heart.

This is not to say that this film ever gets you a clean resolution on those terms, as far as the anti-hero (Nicholson's character) is concerned. It ends on the note that he's still struggling, as he wrenches himself away from an impulse to re-anchor himself to a time and place (via a person/lifestyle).

It's one of those flicks that doesn't resolve within it's own running time, and hopes (if it succeeds) that you'll walk away wondering, "So, whatever _did_ happen to that guy? Did he wind up OK?" In this sense, it's like Fellini's Cabiria--a classic of that type--and lots of flicks that achieve a similar compelling effect as the story "concludes".

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And I'd like that. But that 5h1t ain't the truth. --Jules Winnfield

I agree with the OP, seemed all a bit pointless, reminds me of Easy Rider, where sort of nothing happens except Easy Rider is probably a better film.

Bob Seger's "Roll Me Away" is what it's about to me:

Took a look down a westbound road,
right away I made my choice
Headed out to my big two-wheeler,
I was tired of my own voice
Took a bead on the northern plains
and just rolled that power on

Twelve hours out of Mackinaw City
stopped in a bar to have a brew
Met a girl and we had a few drinks
and I told her what I'd decided to do
She looked out the window a long long moment
then she looked into my eyes
She didn't have to say a thing,
I knew what she was thinkin'

Roll, roll me away,
won't you roll me away tonight
I too am lost, I feel double-crossed
and I'm sick of what's wrong and what's right
We never even said a word,
we just walked out and got on that bike
And we rolled
And we rolled clean out of sight

We rolled across the high plains
Deep into the mountains
Felt so good to me
Finally feelin' free

Somewhere along a high road
The air began to turn cold
She said she missed her home
I headed on alone

Stood alone on a mountain top,
starin' out at the Great Divide
I could go east, I could go west,
it was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin'
and my soul began to rise
And pretty soon
My heart was singin'

Roll, roll me away,
I'm gonna roll me away tonight
Gotta keep rollin, gotta keep ridin',
keep searchin' till I find what's right
And as the sunset faded
I spoke to the faintest first starlight
And I said next time
Next time
We'll get it right

I think perhaps one has to look at a film like this one in a little different way than one would look at a lot of other pictures. There is no plot, but we're dealing with a young man who is obviously very confused and frustrated with his life. He seems to have had a very fortunate upbringing, and he's obviously very bright, but appears to be very disillusioned with everything. Jobs don't work out for him; relationships with women are unfulfilling; and you get the feeling to the very end, that he wants OUT! "There must be something more than this!" Something more than just the rat race; the riff-raff and the hoipolloi; relationships with the opposite sex where the other person seems to understand nothing. There must be something out there more meaningful than this! These
are subjects that the baby boomers were were wrestling with circa 1970, when there were so many confusing things happening all around us. The world seemed to be like a ball of confusion. And for many of us, things never really did work out. No decent job; no family; no picket fences; but we got out of Viet Nam! We solved other problems. We weren't successful in changing the world, which was what we'd hoped for; but we survived. We learned about life. And we had a lotta fun. We had our moments like the one where Bob was breaking down in front of his handicapped father; but we also had moments like the ones where he's playing the piano on the back of the pick-up truck. He was in traffic, and basically going nowhere, but he was having fun. Maybe just having fun is what it really is all about. Just have a good time folks. In a hundred years we'll all be dead anyway.