Pulp Fiction
Title Card: pulp /'p&lp/ n. 1. A soft, moist, shapeless mass of matter.
Title Card: 2. A magazine or book containing lurid subject matter and being characteristically printed on rough, unfinished paper.
Title Card: American Heritage Dictionary
Title Card: New College Edition
Following up on
Reservoir Dogs and his writing credits on
True Romance, this ex- video store employee and movie fanatic unleashes this monster of vignettes; chock full of sh#t going sideways in very unexpected ways, clever banter and a solid list of actors to keep you glued from the opening Title Card to the Closing Scene. All of which done completely out of order of sequence and instead of causing confusion, it creates a better paced film.
Not too f@ckin shabby.
This was a very serious turning point from the action/drama films of the previous decade of the Eighties where things followed a pretty basic recipe without any dialogue of actual substance. Just catch phrases and cornball sh#t being said when someone gets taken out.
This and the films that mimicked it brought dialogue back. Yes, yes, I know, not in a philosophical capacity or in some grandiose poetic prose, but still.
Creating a fanboy's film with "Wha' da f@ck?!" scenarios that, I'm sure, came about from these movie fanboys talking about past films and cracking jokes about other crazy stuff that could or should happen in those scenes.
And Tarantino, (and let's not forget his writing partner, whom did get forgotten by the roadside, Roger Avery), got the chance to do just that. And he did such a great job at it, Hollywood backed him as he continued on all his following projects that continue to come out as we speak.
I remember when this first came out, I took a friend to watch it and when we got to the Date with Mia, back at her house, he scoffed, thinking the usual outcome. "They're gonna have sex, ain't they?" Watching her dance to Neil Diamond as Vincent is telling his reflection in the mirror, "You're gonna drink your drink. Say goodnight. Go home, jerk off, and that's all you're gonna do."
I grinned ear to ear, knowing better.
As I've said, for first timer watchers and us addicted fans that return for that "hit", Pulp Fiction delivers with an intensity that we savor and cheer for. Even decades later, it continues to deliver. Regardless of the countless clones that have appeared since.