I love the ‘60s (even wrote a book at it which you need to buy immediately), love LA in the ‘60s, and the soundtrack of my life was KHJ radio. And other than HATEFUL 8’s I very much like Quentin Tarantino movies.
Instead of resorting to CGI, Quentin painstakingly recreated the Los Angeles of 1969 and it was fun to see all the familiar facades return along with all the authentic ads from that year. I was in Westwood when he was filming there and took lots of pictures of the vintage cars and recreated storefronts. (This weekend I will post a bunch.)
Tarantino also put together an amazing all-star cast. Leo, Brad, Al, Margot – all so big you don’t need their last names.
So it was as if Quentin made this movie specifically for me.
I had to see it opening day, and the 11 AM showing no less. I chose the Bruin Theatre in Westwood, the same theatre featured in the film. I bought my ticket in advance because I didn’t want to get shut out if there were big crowds. I arrived a half hour early. I was taking no chances.
I was the only one there.
Maybe ten people ultimately were in the theatre when the picture began.
So what did I think? B+
Tarantino is a real student of film but the one aspect he never grasped is that scenes should begin as late into the scene as possible. In some cases scenes that should have taken three minutes took twelve. The movie is 2 hours and 41 minutes. He could have easily cut a half hour. And this is from the guy who couldn’t wait. Ironically, the whole sequence where Sharon Tate goes to Westwood to watch her movie – the scene I was there for – could have landed on the editor’s floor.
So that knocked it down from an A. Otherwise, it was a fun Tarantino ride complete with requisite cool, great acting performances, a killer soundtrack, some tense sequences, in-your-face violence that teeters between gruesome and cartoon, twisted storytelling, some good laughs, and lots of my beloved KHJ radio in the background. The attention to detail is remarkable. This is as loving a tribute to Los Angeles as MANHATTAN was Woody Allen’s love letter to New York. The big difference is that in Tarantino’s movie the hero chooses not to sleep with the underage girl.
Certainly for me a big plus was the nostalgia of the period. Hearing a “Heaven Scent” commercial and seeing local horror movie host Seymour again was fun for me, but anyone not part of the ‘60s? All these touches will help sell the time period, but I doubt they’ll have any value beyond that. And the question becomes: how vital are those touches to the success of the film? I'm guessing very little since the hipsters came out at night and Tarantino had his best opening night ever.
Leo & Brad gave Oscar-worthy performances. I don't think Margot even spoke for the first hour. There's a sequence where she's watching herself in a movie. We see her reacting to the crowd and enjoying her performance. It's something Margot could phone in. But for whatever reasons some critics have singled out this sequence as one of the acting highlights of the film. Huh????
Oh, and what is it with Tarantino and feet? There are several scenes where barefoot girls have their feet up. In another case a woman character directs Brad by pointing her foot. Looking back, there was that scene in PULP FICTION where John Travolta and Samuel Jackson were discussing whether a foot rub was an act of adultery. And isn't there a bare foot scene in JACKIE BROWN?
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD is worth seeing, especially if you’re a Tarantino fan. There are flashes of brilliance. This is his 9th film. He says he’s only going to make 10. I suspect 10 is the number of people in the entire world who believe him. I don’t see Quentin Tarantino retiring and playing golf with Alice Cooper. And if he in fact is going to only make one more movie, judging by his fetish, shouldn't it be a reboot of Cinderella?
And even though it’s too long, stay for the closing credits. Some nice little bonuses reward those who do.
I wanted to absolutely love it. I liked it a lot. But then KHJ airchecks are my "feet."
from By Ken Levine
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