Pulp Fiction

This has always been one of my favorite movies. To be perfectly blunt it is way more violent than most of the other movies I love, and I don't approve of Quentin Tarantino's uses of the n-word and other racial slurs by both himself and the other characters. But the movie resonates with me, and it's not just funny and entertaining, but enough of it is ambiguous enough to perhaps make one question the themes they have seen and what the bigger message of the movie actually is. And weirdly enough for a movie about gangsters, there does perhaps seem to be some larger messages and mysteries involved.

Do I agree with Jules' central conflict that the bullets missing him and Vincent was Divine Intervention? I personally don't think so, just because Jules is a bad guy, and I don't see God intervening on his behalf. And yet, upon his Moment of Clarity Jules decides to give up The Life, which much mocking from Vincent. And even though the movie's story isn't told in order, the viewer is made aware that Vincent's continuation in The Life will soon lead to his death at the hands of Butch. So who is actually wrong there?

Tha religious themes, including the made-up Ezekiel passage are only parts of many of the questions the movie has raised for its fans. My favorite theory is that the glowing briefcase contains Marsellus Wallace's soul, extacted from the back of his neck with the Band-Aid, and the combination is 666 because he sold it to the Devil. The clowns Jules was torturing somehow got ahold of it and Wallace wants it back.

Out of the three stories my favorite is The Bonnie Situation, simply because the scene in the diner is not how most gangster films would choose to end things. Considering the movie wasn't told in order (another unusual thing for cinema at the time) it's possible it ended where it did because it felt more like an ending. But most mob movies end an action sequence. Jules is doing everything in his power to calm the situation instead. And so the movies ends on a measure of peace and grace.

It's definitely my favorite hostage scene of all time. Jules not only has a bunch of memorable lines like "What's Fonzie like?" and "Correctamundo. And that's what we're gonna be. We're gonna be cool." I love that Jules is so plainspoken to Honey Bunny / Yolanda and comforting her as she's flipping out. He says when she starts yelling it makes him nervous, and when he gets nervous he gets scared, and Ringo could get shot. Later he's telling her she's doing a great job and he's proud of her. It is also not lost on me that Pumpkin DOES recognize what is in the briefcase and considers it beautiful. If it is a soul that suggests each one of us would recognize it as that if we saw it.

Other interesting themes and questions to note. Four major scenes occur in the bathroom. Not just the guy hiding out but fruitlessly missing Jules and Vincent with the bullets. But Vincent has a really unfortunate knack for using the bathroom when he can't afford to. For the night with Mia Wallace it led to near-disaster. For the restaurant it all worked out. And for when he was watching Butch's apartment, it got him killed.

The scene at the beginning of Vincent talking about the difference between McDonalds in Europe and America is fun but I will never ever forget the foot massage debate. And I am with Vincent in agreeing it's the same ballpark. And Jules angrily is like "It's not the same ballpark or even the same sport." And Vincent asks him if he's ever given a man a foot message. And Jules' response is an angry "F-word You," because Vincent has won the argument. And if you ask me it's the only argument of theirs he won.

Jules believing pigs are filthy animals and dogs are merely dirty because they have a personality was a lot of fun, and listening to Vincent describe Jules walking the Earth as the lifestyle of the bum was entertaining too. There are so many great bits and memorable moments. "It would need to be a charming motherf-wording pig," cracks me up.

I recognized the five dollar milkshake bit from my own life. I recognized myself being outraged over a menu item of a very basic thing being overpriced at a niche restaurant and believing it was actually worth it upon tasting it and it being surprisingly amazing. The dance scene is also fun and Tarantino leaning into John Travolta's strengths. He even does the Batusi.

It's interesting Lance is eating Fruit Brute cereal. I wouldn't have recognized it back in the day because that Monster Cereal was before my time and I only know it now because around Halloween Monster Cereals bring back the old flavors.

The adrenaline shot is pure cringe, and like the Samurai sword scene, it's also a LOT less graphic than you remembered. You don't actually see it going in. You just thought you did because you watched it with your eyes peeking behind your fingers the first time.

The Soundtrack is amazing but I want to give special credit to the opening theme and the music from the end credits. Great stuff. This was also the movie that introduced me to Son Of A Preacher Man and it remains one of my favorite songs.

Fabienne is definitely the most annoying character in the movie, with her weird obsession with potbellies. The fact that Butch humors her so much endears me to Butch. He throws the fit to end all fits (he actually smashes the hotel TV) and then calms down when he sees how scared she is, and lies and says it's not her fault, he should have made it clearer how important The Watch was. But he's screaming all the way back on the drive to his apartment. Even funnier is after he comes back to her and she's dawdling and starting to whimper he's all, "I'm sorry, baby, how was breakfast?" After the horrible ordeal HE just went through, he's forced to comfort her dumb ass instead. Butch is an jerk but he has the patience of a saint.

Also interesting to note that in their first scene together Vincent and Butch seem to instantly dislike each other. No reason is given for that, and considering the way things shook out, I'd argue no reason was actually needed either.

"Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead." The movie is filled with excellent one-liners. That's one of the funniest.

It's also great cinema that Vincent is shot and killed at the exact same moment as the toaster pastries pop up. The flashing lights on the gunshots earlier when Vincent and Jules execute the punk played by Frank Whaley are similarly artful.

As entiertaining as the movie is, I have to confess the stuff with the Gimp isn't as funny as Tarantino thinks it is. That being said, I loved and appreciated that fact that just when Butch is about to escape, he hears Wallace's suffering and just can't leave the guy to that. And he's looking around the pawn shop for a weapon to save him with, and finding deadlier and deadlier options, until he gets to the Samurai sword. And "Attaboy, Zed!" is one of the coolest threatening lines said by a movie character since Dirty Harry.

My favorite part of the scene is after the rescue and Butch is asking what happens next between him and Wallace, and if they're cool. And Wallace is like he's very far from f-wording cool, and when Butch clarifies he meant between him and him, Wallace is like, "There is no you and me." And I will never forget that the first stipulation for this mercy is that Wallace insists he tells no-one about this, and it's just between them and the soon to be dead rapist whose ass Wallace is about to get medieval on (another great line). And I love the way he tells Butch to get gone and stay gone. "You've lost your L.A. privileges." That phrase has always stuck with me.

The Wolf is cool. I love that he barely tolerates Vincent and he's all "Pretty please with sugar on top clean the f-wording car." Jules himself seems to be losing patience with Vincent all throughout the last segment of the movie. It's a bit rich all of the petty complaining Vincent does considering Marvin's death is entirely his fault. Marvin's death IS pretty funny too, especially Jules' reaction.

Jules has the best wallet ever.

I adore the bit where Jules is talking about how Mia Wallace starred in a TV Pilot, and asks Vincent if he knew what that was. Vincent sniffs he doesn't watch television, and Jules deadpans if he's aware there is an invention called a television, and if he's aware there are things called shows on it. I punch the air every time I hear Jules say that. Snobs who claim they don't watch TV don't impress me. Vincent acting like the concept of television is so alien to his finicky, cultured nature is the kind of insufferable thing I hate about most TV disavowers. They actually DO know what is it, despite their protests to the contrary, and I like Jules calling him on that crap. And if he doesn't watch television, where did he learn the Batusi? You aren't fooling anyone, Vincent.

I don't want to talk too much about the Oscars. As David Letterman learned to his eternal shame that was a bad year for the Academy recognizing worthy movies. But the truth is in any other year Samuel L Jackson would have walked away with the Best Supporting Actor trophy with no fuss or muss. There was just TOO much great competition in that specific category that year. While it IS outrageous Forrest Gump won the Best Picture statue over it and The Shawshank Redemption, the truth is Martin Landau was actually worthy of the trophy he got for Ed Wood. But 1994 was an unusually great year for movies so it stings the actual Best Picture movie was a literal bad movie.

Christopher Walken's monologue about The Watch is mesmerizing and when he gets to the part about it having to be hidden in his ass I'm rolling. But truly the thing that cracks me up most in hindsight is when he hands Kid Butch The Watch he instantly grabs for it, even knowing where it's been. Let me just say, that would NOT have been my first reaction, even as a little kid and it amuses me it was Butch's. Me? I'd have questions about how and when The Watch was cleaned in the meantime from the time period between the two separate asses to the story being related. Butch being all "Mine!" for it instead amuses me.

Out of Tarantino's movies, I've only seen this one, Reservoir Dogs, and Jackie Brown. I was underwhelmed by Jackie Brown, and didn't see what the big deal was with Reservoir Dogs. (As far as Reservoir Dogs goes, I'm having a hard time understanding how Wes Craven, the director of Last House On The Left, could have walked out of it for being too violent.) But this is the Tarantino film I saw that I loved. It's not really my kind of movie at all, which says a LOT about the fact that I still love it. *****.