A racist Dennis Hopper, stoned Brad Pitt and a cameo by Tony Soprano... Cool!

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2011)

Watching True Romance for the second time, I realised that it worked best to think of it as several brilliantly written and acted segments, strung together loosely by able direction (from the "other" Scott) and a "whatever" kind of plot.
When I think of this film, the moments that come to mind are Clarence and Alabama eating pie at a dingy little diner, Clarence confronting Gary Oldman's wigga Drexl in his crack den, the classic Sicilian scene between Dennis Hopper and the inimitable Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini interrogating Bama at the motel.
Then, I pause and try to remember how the characters got from the diner to Clarence's bed... And what happened directly prior to Gandolfini's scene? And how and when did Bama and Clarence get to L.A., anyway?
I can't freakin remember! And this is simply because these are the wind- down moments, the story progression which takes a back seat to the writing and directing style, which are interchangeable at best and, when worse, totally pointless.
This films is like Pulp Fiction lite, a collection of interrelated vignettes that ultimately build to something resembling a climax. The only difference is that I could virtually re-enact any and every scene of Pulp Fiction for you at the drop of a hat, because it's ALL vignette, and it's ALL written like these segmented parts of Romance, which is decidedly less memorable because of it.
But, I mean, what kind of criticism is that: "It's not as cool as Pulp Fiction." Jesus wasn't as cool as Pulp Fiction.
So, 8/10, because the characters are endearing (especially Arquette as Alabama), the dialogue is undoubtedly Tarantino and because, watching it, I always envision what could have been a generic and insignificant film transcending its own genre and setting, all thanks to QT and, I suppose, even a little bit of help for Scott...
And also for the Sicilian scene. God, I love that scene!!!