Pulp Fiction - "You Never Can Tell"

I wanna dance. I wanna win. I want that trophy.

I often say that Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie. I know that’s a real cliché film student answer, but I minored in Film Studies in college so this tracks. If I really think about it, I wouldn’t be able to choose a single movie as my absolute favorite but instead would probably land on 10-12 that I really enjoy and am always happy to rewatch.

Pulp Fiction still always floats around there somewhere at the top though. Is there perhaps too much blood, too much casual throwing around of the N-word, and do I think Quentin Tarantino is kind of a creep? Yes. But I first saw this movie in college, at a time when every movie you see takes a stronger hold of your brain, and I can’t help feeling the same electric excitement every time “Miserlou” blasts in over the opening credits. I like how Tarantino’s love of cinema bleeds through¹ everything he makes and how you can footnote every scene with all the pop culture moments he’s referencing. I got so sucked into this movie that I’m pretty sure Uma Thurman’s wig influenced every haircut I got in the 2000s. (See also: my Instagram handle.)

I’m going to Los Angeles this week (primarily for the AWP Conference, hiiiii writer friends!) so maybe that’s also why this movie is on my mind right now. This will only be my third time visiting LA so my vision of the city is still very much defined by movies like Pulp Fiction where there are drug addicts and deals gone wrong right beside beautiful vistas and the most glamorous people you’ve ever seen.² So… just like New York City but warmer and more driving, I guess? (JK, we will be comparing the merits and downsides of each city until the end of time.)

And you know what else LA has? Dance contests. Or at least this version of LA, where there exists a kitchsy restaurant named Jack Rabbit Slims, and where Mia (Uma Thurman) and Vincent (John Travolta) are determined to win a trophy:

This is a short dance scene with minimal choreography (perhaps zero actual choreography?) but I’ve still always wanted to talk about it because it is big on MOOD. And yes, all sorts of references to other movies and celebrities. Let’s twist:

Jack Rabbit Slims is a restaurant staffed by celebrity lookalikes³, so we’ve got Marilyn Monroe and Ed Sullivan introducing the twist contest:

Imma need a closeup of this trophy

Vincent is absolutely not interested (and he’s still coasting on a heroin high), but Mia just got sugared up with a milkshake (and some bathroom cocaine) and she is ready to DANCE. I think the line “I wanna dance, I wanna win, I want that trophy” is the new thing I’m going to say in the mirror every morning.

She tells him to “dance good:”

THIS HAIR

And the Vincent Vega we know as John Travolta smiles like he can’t wait to bring out his intense jazz hands and hair whipping:

Ready to destroy every dance floor

Mia and Vincent climb up to the stage, which is in the round, Shakespearean style. That’s some pressure to know your twist skills will be analyzed from every angle!

And what ARE the elements of a good twist, I wonder? Is about how low you can go or is it about the breadth of your twist? Perhaps the number of times you twist? It all seems very subjective. And who are the judges here? Marilyn and Ed? The other diners? I have so many logistical questions.

Mia and Vincent immediately remove their shoes which makes me think they are more familiar with the rules of twisting than I am. Does this offer better foot traction?

Then music kicks in and it’s not Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.” That would be too obvious (and probably too expensive). It’s the slightly-more-obscure-until-this-movie-soundtrack, Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.”

Right away we’ve got some good hand choices: Vincent powers his twist with fists to show us he means business and Mia is showing us how tired her wrists are from holding up her $5 milkshake:

Hope that stage is clean

It seems the key to a good twist is that move where you pretend to be putting out a cigarette with your arched foot, but then Vincent one-ups it with some toe taps:

Excellent knee strength

Mia sees his toe taps and raises him a seductive/menacing chest shimmy:

Me pushing my way off the subway

Then they do what feels like a classic “follow the follower” improv warmup, which turns into the swim.⁴ The audience behind them is fully enraptured and I like that they’re all on board (or maybe they’re all waiting for their burgers):

Vincent is on another plane of existence

Vincent then does the iconic go-go fingers move, which I just learned is called The Batusi and was first performed by Batman?? Wow, deep cut, Quentin! Mia does her own manic full-hand version. If you’ve never seen Pulp Fiction but someone asked you to imagine a scene from it, this is probably the moment you’re picturing:

Heroin vs cocaine in dance form

The camera pans to their feet to show how smart their intricate foot moves and how they… just kidding, we all know Tarantino has a thing for feet, right?

PS: What is the stage painted like? A radio dial? I can’t figure it out.

The mood then turns seductive. Mia’s shirt is somehow more unbuttoned and Vincent tries to look but also not look:

Then Mia has one more good hair shake before we fade to black:

We never see how this scene really ends, but we do know that they end up with the trophy, which has led to a lot of internet speculation about whether they actually won the dance contest or they stole the trophy. I like to believe they won it, because their twist skills are great and the audience seemed to love them. I also hope they got to clean their feet and Mia got to finish her milkshake.

Another thing I love about this scene is how much Quentin Tarantino loved filming it. I recently found this behind the scenes footage of him dancing while directing and it’s a real delight. He’s only 30 years old here, and yet looks like someone’s middle-aged uncle getting down at a graduation party. He’s having the time of his life.

BONUS: In college us theater kids often had theme parties, because of course we did. One of our best ones was the very broadly themed “Hollywood” party where we all dressed as movie characters or celebrities. Because this was 2005 there was an Eminem, a Torrance from Bring It On, and Paris Hilton (complete with fake tiny dog). But of course I was Mia Wallace:

Not pictured: my friend Adam as Vincent completing the other half of the Batusi

A lot of us, including myself, were in rehearsal for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the time, in which the director told us to not cut our hair so we could all have long luxurious locks for the show. In reality that meant we all just had the shaggiest, messiest mops for months. I didn’t want to buy a wig for a one-night goof so I did my best with my long bangs. ACTING!⁵

Thanks for reading, dear friends! Keep twisting like you’re going to win the trophy. Because no matter what happens, it’s your trophy anyway.

See you next month with more sweet moves!

Love and jazz hands,
Molly

1. Quite literally, in this case.

2. See also Boogie Nights, another LA movie with all of those qualities and also definitely in my top 10.

3. The best one of course being Steve Buscemi as a Buddy Holly lookalike.

4. Small segue: in trying to confirm that this dance is actually called “The Swim” I found this very excellent video of a Bobby Freeman performance where everyone is SO serious, from the dancers to the audience, even through to the hilarious end.

5. But really: DRINKING!