Danny Turkiewicz has made his directorial debut with Stealing Pulp Fiction. A film which poses a simple question; would you be idiotic enough to try and steal Tarantino’s personal film print of Pulp Fiction from his own cinema?
Jonathon (Jon Rudnitsky) and Steve (Karan Soni), two Tarantino fanboys, and their friend Elizabeth (Cazzie David), they embark on a heist to do just that, along with their rather eccentric psychiatrist Dr. Mendelbaum (Jason Alexander).
All four leads give it their all – they’re characters are oddly charming, pretty dumb, but most importantly funny. They elevate a serviceable heist plotline into something more wholesome. It feel’s like you’re watching a group of friends, both in the film’s world and out of it. The actor’s look like they’re having a ball. Jason Alexander as Mendelbaum especially serves a lot of the laughs, with a last-act ‘reveal’ that will make you gasp.
Important with these kind of homage films is they don’t over-rely on stylistic and dialogue references. And Stealing Pulp Fiction avoids this pitfall. While it has fun re-creating Tarantino’s cinematography style, and makes some pokes and jokes at his filmography, it still has a style of it’s own – Turkiewicz is not afraid of taking his time, and adding in fun quirks to scenes, like a waitress who takes far too much time to pour coffee.
Seager Tennis, however, gives an unhinged performance as Quentin Tarantino himself. It’s hard to sum it up — it could truly be the defining performance of an era, or perhaps the worst of all time. It’s on it’s own plane of existence. He looks both like the famed director, and nothing alike. He does, most definitely, emulate his tone and vocal inflections perfectly.
Stealing Pulp Fiction is a goofy comedic heist film. While every joke may not land, if you’re on it’s wavelength, you’ll love it anyway.
Featured Image Credit: Pillisdorf Pictures Production; Zakaria Entertainment; Story in the Sky/Giant Pictures
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