Pulp Reviews

Going Through The Motions

Director Mike Hodges and star Michael Caine reunite after working together on Get Carter. But this is no Get Carter!

I remember enjoying Pulp when it was first released, but it now looks decidedly dated. Having said that, it's still a good enough vehicle for Michael Caine who give a witty voice-over to the piece. Mickey Rooney is as hammy as ever but the film is stolen from under Caine's nose by the underused Lionel Stander.

One particularly unpleasant aspect of the film, however, is a scene used over the end credits when a pack of dogs chase an obviously terrified wild boar. Maybe hunt supporters would get some kind of sick enjoyment from it, but I switched off.

Mickey Spillaine Meets Mickey Caine

It seems that now Michael Caine is suddenly cool. Pulp proves that he always has been cool. After making Get Carter, Caine teamed up again with director Mike Hodges and producer Michael Klinger to make what is essentially a comedy detective story. But with a twist. Our detective is in fact a rather shoddy pulp fiction novelist who attracts the attention of ageing and rather deluded film star, Mickey Rooney, who wants Caine to write his autobiography.

And it would ruin the many surprises the film contains if I was to go into greater detail about the story, but I feel that this is one of Caine's best movies. He's sharp, witty and even vulnerable at times playing a character who is esentially a bit of a heel. Hodges' direction is superb, filling the screen with quirky sight gags and jarring visuals (the boar hunt at the end of the film is a bit strong, but when you see it in context, it makes literal sense).

All in all a superb relic of the early 70's, when studios would allow a star to make a film that these days would probably be in comeptition at Sundance.

Check it out.

For all Malta Fans

I am not a huge Michael Caine fan, but I thought he was great in this film. He plays it with just enough tongue in cheek so as not to reduce the film to a farce, which unfortunately by comparison Mickey Rooney does in spades. A very funny voice over and some fantastic nostalgic glimpses of Malta in the early 1970s which if you love Malta you will find very comforting.

[Highly rated reviewer]

WAFFLE

NOTHING LIKE PULP FICTION

POOR STORY

BOARING

BLAND