From spaghetti westerns to blaxploitation flicks and martial arts action, iconic auteur Quentin Tarantino has made a habit of celebrating cinema within his own work. Carrying this on to a degree by paying homage to QT himself, writer and director Danny Turkiewicz presents Stealing Pulp Fiction.
Developed from his own 2020 short, the plot follows cinephile pals Jonathan (John Rudnitsky) and Steve (Karan Soni) as they attend a special screening of cult classic Pulp Fiction in Los Angeles. After they discover that the 35mm print they’re watching is the director’s personal copy, they hatch a plan to steal the reels.
Borrowing a lot from its inspiration, Turkiewicz’s narrative is split into title-card labelled chapters, contains prolonged conversations in retro diners, and makes nods to items of Tarantino lore such as the mysterious briefcase and the Big Kahuna burger. Even the aesthetic shares the same postmodern style with a slightly grainy 70s-infused colour palette. There’s definitely a novelty to the concept that’s entertaining in the beginning, but the main heist storyline is nonsensical, the gags feels cheap, and there’s just not enough substance to fill a feature-length-film, even at its modest 78 minute running time.
Most of the cast have been refreshed for this stretched out adaptation of the short version, with SNL alumni Jon Rudnitsky bringing a likeable charm and charisma to his part. The only returning performer is Cazzie David who reprises her role as Elizabeth, a cynical QT hater who tags along for the ride with the hapless protagonists. She is the daughter of comedy legend Larry David, which might go some way to explaining the somewhat surprise casting of Seinfeld star Jason Alexander.
Die-hard film buffs and fans of Quentin Tarantino might get a kick out of this love-letter to one of his beloved pictures, but even through playful mimicry it pits itself against one of the most influential movies of all time, so Turkiewicz’s effort was always going to fall short. You might just want to watch Pulp Fiction again instead.
Cinema Perspective 