Pulp Fiction (1994)

Movie Info

First Saturday Night Fever, then Urban Cowboy…now the Twist

Pulp Fiction is the story of Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and his order to take out his boss’s wife Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) on one of the worst dates in history.  Pulp Fiction is  the story of a boxer named Butch (Bruce Willis) whose heirloom leads him right into conflict with Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) after refusing to throw a fight.  Pulp Fiction is the story of a headless body in the back of a car and how a miracle might change the life of leg-breaker Jules (Samuel L. Jackson).  Pulp Fiction is all of these stories and how they  inter-weave.

Pulp Fiction exploded in 1994 and made a huge star out of director Quentin Tarantino.  Having already made the sleeper hit Reservoir Dogs, Taratino found mass popularity with this title that mixed all sorts of genre and styles with snappy dialogue.  Pulp Fiction was hailed as one of the best movies of the 1990’s and was nominated for multiple awards after its premiere in Cannes (where it won the Palme d’Or).  Pulp Fiction earned Academy Award nominations for Uma, Jackson, and Travolta among other awards and Tarantino walked away with the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with Roger Avery.

Check out the big brain on Brett!

Pulp Fiction really is pushed by a clever script with decent acting. For many of the stars it was a break-through role or a return to stardom (as in the case of John Travolta).  The script was a lot for some people since it really was more of an art film (wait, how can John Travolta be alive after his death?!)  It was this quirky independent type of filming that still was able to connect with a young audience.  Long dialogue sequences and discussions about things that seem trivial are what people seem to remember most from the story.

I think Quentin Tarantino became a victim of his own success however. He started to believe the hype about himself.  I can say I like a lot of his stuff, but I also feel he just is trying soooo hard to be cool. In Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, he succeeded, and it was because he was new on the scene.  Pulp Fiction really was overplayed…I personally burned out on it, but now revisiting it about ten years after I last saw it, it seemed better.  This could be because I’ve hated other Tarantino films like Inglourious Basterds and Death Proof, and it is nice to see him back in his prime.  Films like Jackie Brown and the first Kill Bill he shows some control by just telling a good story visually (with some problem points).

Not having a good day? It could be worse

Pulp Fiction however does stand up as a modern classic and shows a real change in direction for Hollywood.  Lots of movies tried to copy the slickness of Pulp Fiction but few succeeded (and all the copies kind of hurt Pulp Fiction‘s originality).  If you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction, or it has been a few years because you over did it when it was popular go back to it…It will seem as fresh as a Royale with Cheese.