Parents' Guide to Stealing Pulp Fiction

It's funny, but this comedy might spark the most laughs for serious fans of Pulp Fiction and/or Quentin Tarantino fans. Stealing Pulp Fiction gets much of its humor from Tarantino hallmarks, particularly his writing and creative choices for Pulp Fiction—such as focusing on two buddies, setting scenes in diners, having characters speak conversationally within the bigger crime story, and featuring 1960s–'70s music and font aesthetics. The question is whether the film's humor can sustain itself outside of the Tarantino niche. And that's hard to say for sure, since so much Tarantino knowledge is needed to really understand what the film is trying to convey.

That said, the actors do a lot of work to pick up the slack, especially Soni, who's a standout as the adorable Steve. Alexander's Dr. Mendelbaum is a close second, while David does what she can with the role of Elizabeth, but it's hard to tell whether her character (and her contentious relationship with Rudnitsky's Jonathan) is a commentary on the offhand misogyny in Tarantino's films or whether the humor got lost in the shuffle of David and Rudnitsky's performances. At any rate, Jonathan's constant belittling of Elizabeth starts to grate, and whatever message the film might be trying to convey suffers. Bottom line? Stealing Pulp Fiction is probably great if you're a Tarantino die-hard, but it might be just OK if you're not.