= 4 stars

Starring John Travolta, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

I saw Pulp Fiction in the theaters back in ‘94. It did go places its contemporaries didn’t, and certain scenes had a shock value that evoked uncomfortable reactions – I recall laughing quite a bit at the most sordid of them (Bruce Willis in the basement). The film was unique while openly paying homage to a mish-mash of ’70s directors.

The same film ten years later feels surprisingly different. The at-the-time brazenly original time-shifted third act doesn’t have much effect today, as so many films use time-games as a gimmick (Run Lola Run) even to the point of entire movies being backwards (Memento). It’s possible Pulp Fiction inspired certain elements of said films.

So it is in today’s hyperactive media age that this not-very-old film can be both nostalgic and influential. Many scenes are instantly recognizable and have burned their way into our generation’s collective pop subconscious:

• The aggressive yet smart surf-guitar, both nostalgic and brazenly confrontational.
• The Vincent (Travolta) and Jules (Sam Jackson) Royale-with-cheese conversation in the car before a morning hit, contrasting casual, nonsense banter with brutal violence.
• The Vincent and Mia (Uma Thurman) twist dance contest where Uma does “that thing” with her fingers.
• Mixing the Bible with violence – getting medieval on your ass.

And as for influence, here’s a short list:

• Films could ignore clear, linear plots, paving the way for non-linear and “twist” films that are everywhere these days.
• Indie films gained cred. You could still make a memorable film with little more than a bunch of guys with guns in a diner.
• Sam Jackson could build a career partly based on goofy hair styles for each film.
• Uma Thurman could be considered a “smart” actress, even though she wasn’t terribly “smart” in Pulp Fiction and seemed to take a cue from Sam’s goofy hairstyle strategy.
• John Travola’s resurrected career, although we did get Battlefield Earth out of the bargain.

My other surprise on my recent viewing was how much the brutal violence has lost its punch. When the violent imagery loses its luster, the dialogue is forced to carry an inordinate amount of thematic weight. It’s exposed as kind of a cheap trick to have a character spout dialogue while pointing a gun at your head; their words sound undeservingly profound.

Luckily, Tarantino’s imagination is so off-kilter, the dialogue still proves somewhat interesting. But for every memorable “Royale with Cheese” segment, there’s a retarded “Fox Force Five”. The most insufferable stretches meandering dialogue come from Butch the Boxer (Bruce Willis) and The French Girl babbling incessantly about “lemon pie” and blueberry pancakes. When Butch gets pissed and tosses a TV, it’s a relief.

Similarly hobbled is the overlong visit by the clean-up expert (Harvey Keitel) whose stay at the Friend’s House (Quentin Tarantino) seems only to mark time until the final diner scene. I hate Tarantino’s habit of putting himself in his own films, an indulgence repeated in the more recent Death Proof.

So why only four stars? Pulp Fiction demonstrates how our minds “time shift” moments of an extreme nature (sex, violence, drugs, religion), making them seem longer and more profound. Conversely, our brains shut down during the boring stuff, hopefully making them speed along. It’s a survival technique. I think people have remembered the vivid, violent stuff in Pulp Fiction and self-defensively forgotten the parts that really, really drag.

Oh, and what’s in the suitcase? Irrelevant. Hitchcock’s MacGuffin.

IMDB: Pulp Fiction
Wikipedia: Pulp Fiction
Rotten Tomatoes: Pulp Fiction 96%

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Posted In: 4 Star Movies, Movies 4 stars, John Travolta, Quentin Tarantino, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman

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