34 Things I Love About Jackie Brown- My Birthday Gift To Myself

Hey folks. Today is my 34th birthday, and so to celebrate, I thought I would take a look at what might possibly be my favorite movie ever, Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 film Jackie Brown. What I didn’t want to do today is give you folks a straight up review of a film that many or most of you have probably seen. So instead I thought I would just list the 34 things that I love about Jackie Brown.

1. The way that the opening tracking shot, set to the strains of Bobby Womack’s Across 110th Street, establishes Pam Grier's character before she even says a word. On a side note, the version of the song used is not the same as in the 1972 crime flick Across 110th Street, but rather a version that Womack later recorded for an album.

2. Chicks Who Love Guns.

3. The Killer had a .45 so they’ve got to have a .45.

4. Ordell (Sam Jackson) playing the Brothers Johnson’s “Strawberry Letter 23” while he shoots Beaumont (Chris Tuckers). Great song and Tarantino plays with the positioning of the sound during this scene which is fascinating. As a side note, “Strawberry Letter 23” is actually a cover song. The original is by rarely heard of songwriter/guitarist Shuggie Otis.

5 The perennially barefoot, stoned, beach bunny Melanie played by Bridget Fonda. Not only is she off the charts hot, but her storyline with Di Nero’s ex-con Louis amuses me.

6. The scene where Max Cherry (Robert Forrester) goes to get Jackie out of jail. The instant connection between the two characters is visible, and from this very first scene the film establishes one of cinema's great subtle love stories.

7. This exchange:

Ordell: “Is that what I think it is?”

Jackie: “What do you think it is?”

Ordell: “I think it’s a gun pressed up against my dick!”

8. Fonda and Di Niro’s sex scene. Sure it's one of the shortest of all time, but Fonda’s line “That was nice, now we can catch up.” always makes me laugh. (You also get a quick shot of Fonda’s bum at the end of the scene, but you gotta look fast.)

9. Max Cherry discovering the Delphonics. When Jackie puts on a record of the Delphonics singing “Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time” when Max comes by her place, the bail bondsman finds music that summons Jackie forth in his mind. It’s not long before he’s hitting Sam Goody for a tape and playing “La-la-la-la-la (Means I Love You)” as he’s cruising down the road.

10. The clip from the film that Fonda’s character is watching is the Italian film Ferocious starring Helmut Berger, and not as Ordell thought, Rutger Hauer.

11. All throughout the film there is incredible movement and life in the camera that keeps Tarantino’s world vibrant and exciting. Tarantino worked with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro who also filmed From Dust Til Dawn, and he brought a similar pop to the camerawork here.

12. “Turn up the volume as loud as you want, but don’t go messin’ with my levels, I got them set just the way I like.” -Ordell to Louis

13. Michael Keeton as Ray Nicolette, a character he would later portray again when Elmore Leonard’s Out Of Sight was filmed.

14. Sid Haig’s cameo as a Judge. Haig and Grier co-starred many times in the 70’s in films like The Big Bird Cage and Coffy.

15. The Cockatoo Inn lounge. If my neighborhood bar was as pimpin’ as that, and women like Ms. Brown frequented it, then I would be a permanent fixture.

16. The difference between a manager’s fee and an agent’s fee.

17. The appearance of one of Tarantino’s movie brands. While there are no Red Apple cigarettes or Big Kahuna burger in Jackie Brown, Jackie does eat from Teriyaki Doughnut, the same place that Marsellus Wallace was getting takeout from in Pulp Fiction when Butch runs him over.

18. The chemistry between Pam Grier and Robert Forrester. In my opinion, Jackie Brown is one of the most overlooked and underrated love stories ever. It remains a subtle part of the plot, but it eventually becomes a heartbreaker in the end.

19. Jackie smoking in the mall. I remember when you could smoke in a mall. Ahh, the good old days.

20. Max Cherry: “You’re rationalizing”
Jackie: “Cause that’s what you got to do to finish the shit you start.”

21. The amazing close-up of Max Cherry’s eyes as he stands in the mall watching Ordell’s plan unfold before him.

22. Louis and Melanie watching Crazy Mary, Dirty Larry starring Bridget’s dad Peter.

23. The musical sequences on the way to the last caper. Jackie listening to Randy Crawford’s “Street Life” and Louis getting irritated by Melanie blaring the Grassroot’s “Midnight Confessions” while Max Cherry drives in silence.

24. The suit that Jackie buys that looks strikingly like Mia Wallace’s duds in Pulp Fiction.

25. “When you robbed banks did you have to look for your car too?”- Melanie to Louis

26. Cars that stall during getaways.

27. The sound tracking during the scene where Max goes in the dressing room. He walks in to a tense baroque piece, but when he comes out with the bag, it’s to the strains of Roy Ayres track “Escape” taken from the soundtrack to Coffy.

28. “You know all them motherfuckers are as crooked as a barrel of snakes.” -Ordell

29. Ordell’s final words to Louis.

30. Max’s phone call with Ordell. Shooting it from behind Ordell with smoke billowing around him denies the audience from Sam Jackson’s face during his dramatic threats, but it ratchets up the tension for the final scenes of the film.

31. Jackie practicing with the gun.

32. Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister’s small role as Winston, Max’s right hand man.

33. Max and Jackie’s final scene.

34. The fact that there is no better cinematic translation of Elmore Leonard’s work. Sure Tarantino made some pretty liberal changes from Leonard’s original novel Rum Punch, but the speech patterns and situations in the film are pure unfiltered Leonard magic shown through the prism of Tarantino’s world.

So there you have it. Thirty four reasons that I love Jackie Brown. I could name a hundred, and if I live to be that old I might just have to do it. Before I sign off for today, I want to remind everyone about the Two Years, Too Awesome Giveaway I have going on all month. Send in your entries and join me back here later this week for more reviews.