»
Re-watch: 'Pulp Fiction' freshly squeezed

The classic cult thriller made an obsessive impression.

Published Dec. 4, 2009

The first time I watched "Pulp Fiction" was just more than a week ago. I then watched it two days later. Three days after that, I watched it again. Last night, I tried to learn the dance routine from the Jack Rabbit Slim's twist contest.

I have yet to get it down, but when I do, there'll be no stopping me. I'll be breaking those moves out at parties, just you watch.

But back to the movie. After viewing it, I can't believe it took me more than 15 years to finally sit down and watch it. "Pulp Fiction" has all of my favorite things rolled into one grungy little package: men in suits, good music and plenty of quotable dialogue that also makes excellent fodder for animated GIFs and Internet memes.

Let's get to the burning questions: What's so great about this pop culture phenomenon? Why can't I stop gushing over it? What does Marsellus Wallace look like?

The best part of the movie is, hands-down, how mundane it just seems to be. (I use the term "mundane" to mean "slow and uneventful at times," in addition to "not unnecessarily fast-paced like an extended action movie trailer.") "Pulp Fiction" moves at a snail's pace, but still leaves you feeling like you've run a marathon at the end.

Normally, I don't like to equate myself with anything involving running, not even a shaky extended metaphor. I'll make an exception here.

Despite being completely entranced while watching this movie, I still felt, at times, like I was watching a scene out of my own life. I really thought, "I could see this happening — if I were a gun-toting hit man in the greater Los Angeles area, that is." Details, details.

Think about this for a second. How many slightly awkward dinners at cheesy restaurants have I sat through? How many times have I had to deal with incompetent people? How many times have I spent some quality time in the bathroom reading a book? Get rid of Vincent Vega's awful hairdo and fitted suit and you've got me. There's no reason I can't be just as badass.

Frankly, I'd rather see something that is good when you just cut it down to the bare bones. This is the reason I mostly watch TV made in the previous century — the original "Star Trek," "The X Files" and re-runs of "Law and Order." I don't want any special effects. I don't need to see the tectonic plates below California collapsing in meticulously rendered CGI.

Give me characters. Have them talk. Make them petty and silly. Have them make mistakes. That's all I need.

Last, I can't forget Quentin Tarantino. What a man. Forget that he wrote or directed the thing — any director who has the balls to put himself in his own movie in more than just a bit part, let alone who looks that adorable in a brightly-colored robe, is fully deserving of my admiration. I wish I drank coffee so I could have some of that real gourmet stuff with him.