Day 04 - Pulp Fiction

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I think it's safe to say that pretty much everyone out there who can get through a Tarantino movie of any type has their favourite. But with that said, despite this movie making my list, I don't consider myself a true blue Tarantino fan. He's one of these directors whose material I always like or at least appreciate, but I don't tend to "fanboy" out about the man like so many do. I have that reserved for Edgar Wright! But don't get me wrong, I will happily sit through his films to see what he comes up with, and any fascination I've had for him stems from this, which I probably say way too early.

Picture this (and fair warning, I might have this a bit twisted around because it's an old memory), you're a 13-year-old kid when some guy you've never seen before comes knocking on your door, wanting to hang out with your parents. This visit is random, so my parents had some dinner plans, but trusted him to hang out at home with my brother and me. The dude seemed decent enough and suggested maybe checking out a movie while our parents were gone. As we went through recorded titles from The Movie Network (back when literally everyone who had a VHS recorder taped things from TV) we found 'Pulp Fiction', and this guy strongly suggested that - as long as I was okay with some suggestive themes.

This was still at a point in my life where I didn't do things like horror or extreme content half as well as I do them nowadays - I mean, I'm all but completely desensitized and can sit through an awful lot. But there I sat going "Yeah, no problem!" so, we went ahead and checked it out. Little did I know what I'd be exposed to, but in a super twisted way, I really enjoyed the whole movie. The only part I remember feeling uncomfortable was the "spider catching his flies" portion of the film... but this is where I quickly learned how much I love a good revenge scene. When Butch is going through this weapons store for the right tool for the job and he looks up at that Samurai sword, it still gives me chills. That was THE scene that paved the way for extremities being just fine as long as vengeance came for the perpetrator(s) full force.

I can't very well claim this as my overall introduction to things like violence, drugs, and a hell of a lot of cursing. But I can probably claim it as my first extreme look at such things (except maybe language - I learned a lot of that very early). There was also something about the three main storylines and how they were put together that really intrigued me. Of course, the film would become famous for this, so there's no real surprise here. But I liked trying to piece it all together, as it helped me pay close attention to things. This one may also be responsible for my passion for black comedy - like when a bump on a car ride fires a bullet into your backseat passenger's face... doesn't sound too funny, I know, but in context... hilarious!

So, as far as this random guy is concerned, I'm not entirely sure we ever actually saw him again. But looking back, isn't that such a Tarantino way to be introduced to Tarantino? A stranger just comes into your life, shows you something crazy, then leaves forever? It didn't occur to me at the time, but looking back now, I have to admit was a pretty odd situation. But thankfully this guy turned up, showed this to me, and quite frankly helped to open my mind to more extreme movies. From here, I'd start to get into a lot more murder mystery stuff, thrillers, and even a little tiny bit of tame horror. Again, a lot of visual stuff just stuck with me. I really think this movie and its show of black comedy helped me lighten up a lot, as it associated so much comedy with its violence.

It would be a pretty slow-burn for me when it came to Tarantino catch-up over the years. And as I did so, none of the titles quite hit me quite as hard as this one. I'm not sure if I can say that I have a deep connection to this one, but it's easily the Tarantino flick I'd highest recommend to any Tarantino newbies. But sincerely, everyone has their favourites, so I might sooner just recommend a marathon to see what speaks to you. I know some of my favourites on the list are seen as "crap" by some of the more hardcore fans, and I stick to my guns that 'Deathproof' is at the very bottom of my own list, which is one I'm sort of surprised a lot of Tarantino fans really love. But even I gave it a passing 3/5 with the hopes that it could "grow on me over time".

Nowadays I tend to tell people that there's something extra special about 'Pulp Fiction'. I feel like while Tarantino has a whole bunch of solid titles under his belt, this is the only one (and I'm only speaking for myself here) I feel has "everything". There's plenty of action, comedy, suspense, and drama, and a whole bunch of dark material at the center of it all. And it's so strange to think that, of all people, I have some stranger (at least to me) to thank for opening my eyes to this world of cinema. I don't even remember the dude's name, and I might say that, despite the fact that he asked about it, he probably shouldn't have exposed someone like me to this at the time. But it turned out to be a good thing! I guess I should just thank my lucky stars he didn't show up that day with a mysterious watch.

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