"This Christmas, Santa's Got A Brand New Bag"

Jackie Brown (1997): 8/10

Poster (c) Miramax Entertainment

Expectations ruin movies. I was talking to my brother about Jackie Brown, Quentin Tarantino's follow-up to Pulp Fiction. He said the movie "bombed" because people didn't think it was as good as Pulp Fiction and made less money. Although many were disappointed that it didn't rise to Pulp-like statue, and that it didn't make as much money as it (less than 20%), but does that automatically make Jackie Brown a terrible movie? No. On the contrary, it's a nice departure from the frenzied pace of Pulp, and shows Tarantino's growth in this medium.

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a flight attendant at a small airline. She works in transferring money via the airline, but soon she is caught. In order to reduce, or eliminate her sentence, she helps the police get Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson), an arms dealer, put away. However, with the help of bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster), she starts to play both sides like a modern-day Yojimbo. Plus, Robert De Niro using a large bong!

Tarantino takes a breather between Pulp and the Kill Bill movies here with a (for the most part) nonviolent drama. It's slow, but it's refreshing. In the age of quick cuts and techno music that's overused, it's good to see a film like this. The pace is slow, sometimes too slow for its own good, but it never gets boring or tedious. The movie does have a few stylish flairs, but it looks low budget, and feels low budget. This movie seems normal-none of the wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am dialogue that made Pulp so famous. There's almost no memorable dialogue in Jackie Brown, but does that mean that it's a terrible movie? According to many people, yes. In my opinion, no.

The thing is, although Jackie is about 20 minutes too long, it's entertaining throughout. The script, based on Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch, keeps our interests throughout, mainly because of Pam Grier. Her endearing work makes the movie worth watching. Her no-holds-barred attitude in the movie makes it continually interesting. Jackson puts in an average show-nothing can top Jules Winnfield. De Niro looks like he's doing a favor for a friend-or Tarantino just wanted him in the movie. But chronically stoned Melanie (Bridget Fonda) put in a good job. The acting's not as good as previous Tarantinos, but for the most part, it's good.

So, let me sum up everything I've said. Jackie Brown is an entertaining, long (by about 20 minutes), and enjoyable movie. See it.

Rated R for strong language, some violence, drug use and sexuality.

Review Date: May 25, 2003