Tarantino's undying foot fetish.

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2019)

Look at all those old vintage cars of the 60's. Look at all those nostalgic billboard ads, lighting fixtures, furniture, street signs, clothing fashion and almost everything down to Freezer Ice crushers, and we have ourselves a heyday of cinematic stimuli loaded with nostalgia for those who can appreciate it. Throw in a story about an actor whose career is on the skids and we are in a for a treat down Hollywood Memory Lane inserted with actors, TV shows, Movie posters and events reminiscent of that era (The end of Hollywood's Golden Age.)
Leonardo Decaprio does a terrific job in this role, showing humility, insecurity, toughness and tenacity. He's an actor who's faced with the dire revelation that his career is dwindling. With the help of his sidekick/Stunt Double friend, Brad Pitt, he takes the advice of Hollywood producer, Mr. Shwarsz, (Al Pacino) to embark on a new career of Italian cinema to revive his dying career. With reluctance, he precariously decides to go along with this recommendation and encouragement from his Stunt Double friend.
While I think the plot is threadbare, Tarantino's dedication to set design and getting all the nostalgic markings with meticulous attention to detail is impressive. I had to look real closely to find mistakes and anachronisms. There were only two: This story takes place in 1969. We see a Boeing 747 flying which wasn't put into domestic service until after its Maiden flight in January 1970. The Joe Namath Biker movie, CC & Company, wasn't released until August 1970. These were minor mistakes, but still nice to see.
I think the whole backstory to the infamous Manson murders could have been handled differently, if not more interestingly. The story doesn't give us much insight to this weird crime other than to intertwine this story as some gruesome memory. The scene at the Hippie commune could have been altered considerably if not completely omitted from the screenplay and the story wouldn't have suffered. Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, looking disheveled and every bit his years plays a role he's comfortable in. With his cheesey and squalid dump of an apartment he finds comfort in hanging out with his Pitbull pet. After a hiatus from the public eye, Pitt makes a comeback playing a lowlife Stuntman who happens to be good with his fists. It's as if in order to clinch the deal to be in Tarantino's movie, he has to come off as a badass.
Although there are some things I liked about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the movie is just too long. Too much time is wasted in a few superfluous characters and nuances that seem to just drag. I understand that Tarantino has a penchant for giving his audience a taste of nostalgia. But that doesn't always make for an involving plot. And this is where my interest fell short. Since the Manson clan serves as the backstory I was hoping for something perhaps different than what we got: a recreation of the actual events, a fabricated yet interesting twist to what occurred on that infamous and grisly night, or perhaps to serve as a subplot to the main story. But we get none of these. Instead, as we hope that the story will get more interesting once the buildup occurs for the climax, it falls into absurdity and parody. Tarantino just wants to rewrite history in his own twisted fantasy. Quite disappointing. If a director decides to reveal a difficult topic such as this, he should do so with the courageous outlook that people will be impressed and inspired by his vision. But Tarantino cops out and turns it into a ridiculous cartoon fantasy. What a letdown.
There are a couple of charming scenes where our hero interacts with a cute child actor. The little girl is the only likable character in the movie. Watching Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate drive around Hollywood Hills all decked out in an open cockpit MGB is cool to watch. The Playboy Mansion scene looks nice even though the random bunnies dancing looks totally choreographed. The Bruce Lee scene is nothing more than a shameless mockery of the late Kung Fu master, Bruce fans need to pass on this. I liked the film's perspective on the business of Hollywood interspersing narration with glimpses of our star's new career trajectory and how he rebounds back into stardom. Even though the story and the manipulation of history is arbitrary and disappointing, it's best to just capture the special moments of nostalgia. And that's what Tarantino does best.