Jackie Brown is a white, female
flight attendant in Elmore Leonard’s novel “Rum Punch.” But when director Quentin Tarantino
first read the book, he overlooked the part where she is described as white,
and so he cast Pam Grier for the part.
Tarantino takes a more leisurely
pace with this one than he did his two previous films, Reservoir Dogs
(1992) and Pulp
Fiction (1994), but if audiences can get past that, this is a fine film. Of
course it deals with foul-mouthed amoral gunrunners and druggies, but that’s
the norm for Tarantino…isn’t it? I mean you know what I’m saying–it’s telling
the story of lowlifes. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that.
As usual, Tarantino extracts the
finest performances from his cast, but standout performances by Grier and
Samuel L. Jackson are the highlights of the film. Robert De Niro is
definitely not the star of this one, and it shows. He and Bridget Fonda make
the most of the smaller roles assigned them. De Niro plays the screw-up Louis,
and Fonda the beach bunny Melanie.
Jackie Brown has an element of suspense, and its pace and dialogue also support it well. All these combine to make Jackie Brown just one of many films I recommend for your pleasurable viewing. But, if you didn’t like the other two Tarantino joints, I understand if you’ll want to skip this one. Quentin’s not for all tastes, that’s for sure.
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Quotes from Jackie Brown:
Max
Cherry: Beaumont Livingston.
Ordell
Robbie: Livingston huh?
Max
Cherry: He did 6 months in prison, he's working on 4 years probation.
Max
Cherry: You know what he's on probation for?
Ordell
Robbie: Ain’t got a clue.
Max
Cherry: Posession of unregistered machine guns.
Ordell
Robbie: Damn. Now, are they gonna consider that a violation of his
probation?
Ordell
Robbie: He ain’t gonna like that. Beaumont ain’t got a doin' time kinda
disposition.
Mark
Dargus: Cut to 13 years later, you're 44
years of age. You're flying for the shittiest-little-shuttle-fucking piece of
shit Mexican airline that there is.
Max
Cherry: Half a million dollars will always
be missed.
Ordell: Is she dead, yes or no?
Louis: Pretty much.
Louis: Yeah but I mean, wha-what is she to you?
Louis:
You told her . . . she believed you?
Ordell:
Hell yeah, to her dumb country ass, Compton is Hollywood, closest she ever been
anyway.
[Ordell
and Louis are standing over the trunk of Ordell’s car]
Louis: Who’s that?
Ordell:
That’s Beaumont.
Louis:
Who’s Beaumont?
Ordell: A employee I had to let go.
Jackie
Brown: Shut your raggedy-ass up, and sit
the fuck down!
Ordell: You only have to ride in the trunk for ten minutes.
Beaumont:
I ain't ridin in the trunk for no minutes.
Beaumont
Livingston: I just ain't getting in no
goddamn, dirty-ass trunk man. I got a problem with small places.
Ordell
Robbie: Well I got a problem with spending
ten thousand dollars on ungrateful, peanut-head niggers to get 'em out of jail,
but I did it!
Melanie
Ralston: Take your thumb off the cup. You
okay?
Louis:
Yeah, just getting old. Seems I can't smoke or laugh now without coughing.
Ordell:
And you definitely know a lot about that. Goddamn
girl, you gettin high already? It's just two o'clock.
Ordell:
You know you smoke too much of that shit, that shit's gonna rob you of your
ambition.
Melanie:
Not if your ambition's to get high and watch TV.
[As
Max Cherry exits the bathroom.]
Ordell
Robbie: Uh uh uh... I didn't hear you wash
your hands.
Ordell: We almost done here, right?
Ordell
Robbie: I'm as serious as a heart attack.
[Louis
has forgotten where he parked]
Melanie: Jesus, but if you two are not the biggest pair of fuck-ups
I've ever met in my entire life. How did you ever rob a bank? When you robbed
banks, did you forget where your car was then too? No wonder you went to jail.
Max: Is white guilt supposed to make me forget that I run a
business?
[Melanie
and Louis are fighting over a bag of Ordell's money]
Louis: Gimme the bag...
Melanie: Watch it dipshit, you wanna rip the fucking bag.
Louis: Gimme that bag before I knock you out and take it.
Melanie: Okay take it. Jesus, what's wrong with you?
Louis: I'm carrying it.
Melanie: Okay, you got it. Just take a chill pill for Christ's
sake.
Louis: Fuck you with your chill pill. [shoots her three times]
[Ray
Nicolet and Jackie Brown are discussing Ordell Robbi's business]
Ray
Nicolet: You ever see him sell guns?
Ray
Nicolet: Then how do you know he sells guns?
Jackie
Brown: He told me. Besides, why else would an ATF man be after him?
Melanie: When did you get ouf of jail?
Louis: Four days ago.
Melanie: Where at?
Louis: Susanville.
Melanie: How long?
Louis: Two months shy of four years.
Melanie: Four years?
Louis: Uh huh.
Melanie: What for?
Louis: Bank robbery.
Melanie: Really? I'm impressed.
Ordell: My ass may be dumb, but I ain't no dumbass.
Ordell:
I can get you a lawyer.
Ordell:
I didn't come here to kill you . . .
Jackie
Brown: Hey, it's okay. Now I forgive you.
Ordell
Robbie: AK-47. When you absolutely,
positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room. Accept no substitutes.
Ordell: Yo, yo. Why don't ya check out some music while
you're sittin' in the car. take the keys.
Louis:
Which one's for the car?
Ordell:
This one right here. Use that little black thing to turn off the alarm
&unlock the doors.
Ordell: Look, I hate to be the kinda nigga does a nigga a favor,
then, BAM!, hits a nigga up for a favor in return. But I'm afraid I gotta be
that kinda nigga.
Beaumont: What?
Ordell: I need a favor.
Jackie
Brown: Max, how do you feel about getting old?
Max
Cherry: You're not old, you look great.
Jackie
Brown: No, I'm asking you, how do you feel about it?
Jackie
Brown: And How do you feel about that?
Max
Cherry: I feel fine about it, you know, I look in the mrror I see me.
Jackie
Brown: Yeah, but it's different for men.
Jackie
Brown: Well, my ass is different.
Max
Cherry: Aint nothin' wrong with that!
Trivia about Jackie
Brown:
Pam
Grier .... Jackie Brown
Samuel
L. Jackson .... Ordell Robbie
Robert
Forster .... Max Cherry
Bridget
Fonda .... Melanie
Michael
Keaton .... Ray Nicolette
Robert
De Niro .... Louis Gara
Michael
Bowen .... Mark Dargus
Chris
Tucker .... Beaumont Livingston
Lisa
Gay Hamilton .... Sheronda
Tom
'Tiny' Lister Jr. .... Winston
Hattie
Winston .... Simone
Denise
Crosby .... Public Defender
Sid
Haig .... Judge
Aimee
Graham .... Amy, Billingsley Sales Girl
Ellis
E. Williams .... Cockatoo Bartender