Romancing the Screen: Pulp Fiction

A new feature in which I watch something romantic--usually a movie from my Netflix instant queue--and give it a spin. It's not a review, more like an unnecessary commentary about nothing.

Pulp Fiction is not a romance. It's Quentin Tarantino's gangster movie about the lives of people intersecting one another over the course of a few days in Los Angeles. But like Tarantino, this blog puts its own spin on everything.

Pulp Fiction is a romance. Just not in the classical sense of what a romance is suppose to be (romantic). It's more of a romance movie for guys. Before I Love You Man with Paul Rudd and that dude from How I Met Your Mother you really only had one set of guys who set the standard on what being in a bromance is like. Enter Jules and Vincent.

They kill people and set a standard
for bromances everywhere.

While I hate the word bromance--there is no other way to describe the friendship between Jules and Vincent. The two are the most quoted characters of the movie. Even people who haven't seen the movie can quote the entire "royale with cheese" dialogue. The reason why is because the two just click together so well.

There's a segment of this movie that veers away from Jules and Vincent and focuses on Uma Thurman's character. John Travolta (Jules) has to take out Uma Thurman's character (who is married and is his boss' wife) to keep her entertained for the night. What follows is a heartfelt and gut wrenching night for Travolta's character or any man who has been on a date that is not a date but wants it to be a date.

Jules and Vincent's discussion of whether or not it's a date is one that I've been in before. If you date long enough there comes a point where you're not sure if you're dating anymore or hanging out. Vincent dismisses the idea and states "It's not a date." Only later does Vincent realize, that yes, he's on a date, and yes, he's a bit smitten with his boss' wife. Jules called it. Because that's what best buddies do.

Meet any guy and he will name Pulp Fiction as one of his favorite movies. Despite the cursing and the killing, and the drug use, it is a damn good movie because of these two. No other movie portrays a hetero friendship these days without making it a comedy or cracking gay jokes. Tarantino didn't have to do it. The characters stand on their own.

Oh, and if anyone knows why Tony Rocker Horror got thrown out of that window, I'd really like to know.

*Later this couple would be reincarnated as Turk and J.D. on Scrubs, but as doctors who save people rather than killing them.