Thursday, October 11, 2007

A Tribute to the Greatest Dialogical Movie of Our Time

So my taste in movies is usually very selective. In fact, I very rarely find someone who shares my taste in movies. Usually any conversation with me and another person is littered with "I liked it, but I didn't love it"s or "it was worth the ticket price"s. Rarely do I ever really connect with someone. In other words, it's hard for me to agree on the topic with anyone.

But I'm not writing this entry to try and evangelize you to the religious experience that is my taste in movies, but to share with you the reason why this movie's so awesome.

Pulp Fiction is a great movie on so many levels, which I could go on and on about to you, but what really makes me love this movie, in the same way that the score of the Godfather makes me love the Godfather, is the dialogue.

Take this scene for example:


One thought comes to mind after watching this scene: I wonder if there are really people who talk like this in real life. I mean, this isn't your everyday awkwardness. This is straight up in-your-face hilarity. Let's break this scene down with analysis of my favorite lines. And please remember, these are MY favorite lines.

"We're associates of your business partner Marsellus Wallace"

How the hell does Samuel L. Jackson fit so many S's into this line? And why the hell isn't my name Marsellus Wallace? What a great name. It just wouldn't work with any other name. Whereas I marvel at Samuel L. Jackson for simply being the first to say the line, my awe is tainted with the sad sad realization that I can never be like him. Innovation like this can never be replicated.

"Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast"

This line goes so much deeper than just hamburgers. There's the condescending sarcasm of the black man, standing tall above the white man. There's the painful realization that this tone of voice from a black man can only lead to him busting a cap into Brad, or several caps into Brad. And finally the hilarity that hamburgers aren't REALLY the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast, he's just going to kill this guy; so why are we laughing? BECAUSE IT'S HILARIOUS

"MMM-Hmmm! This is a tasty burger!"

The one thing that this line has going for it is the fact that after watching Jackson pick up the burger and take a bite, something in my stomach tells me I want a damn Big Kahuna Burger. This line only verbally verifies it. I still think about the image of that burger sometimes.

"Check out the big brain on BRAD! You're a smart mother-F*****, that's right!"

Check out the big brain on Brad. This is a reaction line. A reaction line is one that really doesn't have any effect without the way in which it's said. Check out the big brain on Brad. It's hilarious. No explanation needed.

"Sprite. Good. Do you mind if I have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down?"

This level of cynicism is dangerous. Who the hell says beverage? No one ever says beverage. No one in their right mind at least. Only someone who's going to kill somebody says "beverage". If you ever hear someone ask for a guy's "beverage", get the hell out of there.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I break your concentration? I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue."

Why am I cracking up when he just killed that guy on the couch? On one hand you're thinking: "He just shot that guy" and on the other hand you're thinking: "He just shot that guy, that's hilarious". Black humor at it's best.

"What does Marsellus Wallace look like?"

To which Brad responds, "He's..b..b..BLACK!". You could cut the racial tension with a knife. I don't know about you, but everytime I hear him say "black" I'm always thinking: "You idiot, this guy's black TOO! There's no way you're getting out of this now".



"This is some serious gourmet s***!"

I laugh just thinking about this line. If you've been around me long enough you've probably heard me use it in an everyday setting. Keep in mind, these guys just blew some guy's head off in their car. But what I'm thinking about when I watch this isn't the corpse in the garage. I'm wondering what kind of coffee this guy's drinking.

I love verbal banter. I've never laughed harder at two guys arguing as they pick up pieces of skull in the back of a car.

Ignore the retarded skip to fiction.

"I don't want to hear about no mother f****** ifs!"

God, I wish I could talk like this guy. It's so scripted yet so natural. Plus, Jules freaking out is the funniest thing I've ever seen. The range of emotion is nothing short of pure comedy.

I love this movie. Go watch it.

2 comments:

Ezra said...

It is a good movie, isn't it?

love ezra

samuel mfing jackson.

anninoe said...

HAHAHAH thanks for posting all the good parts for me to watch :)