Pulp Fiction (1994)

Quentin Tarantino’s groundbreaking mid-’90s classic Pulp Fiction (1994) follows the interconnected narratives of a prizefighter (Bruce Willis), two hit men (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), and a gangster’s moll (Uma Thurman) as their world's collide after a botched gambline scheme. Told out of chronological order, the film that would really kick off America's obsession with Tarantino's pop culture reference infused screenwriting, the story is essentially all about Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), a boxer who promises to throw a fight for the gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), only to screw him over by winning the fight. Pissed, Marsellus sends his two best assassins: Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) to take him out. Throw in a sort of date between Marsellus' wife Mia (Uma Thurman) that leads to a dance contest and a drug overdose, Jules turning to Jesus after surviving a shootout, a diner hold up, a flashback featuring Christopher Walken, and a scene that forever made us fear pawn shop basements, all stocked with Tarantino's endlessly quotable dialogue, and it's not hard to see why Pulp Fiction is one of the most important, but also most entertaining movies of the 90's. The film spawned a host of imitators after it broke all the rules, resurrected John Travolta's career, and won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, but none could touch the original. Although completely lacking in nudity, it does feature a sexy performance by skinternational starlet Maria de Medeiros. She's Butch's foreign girlfriend, who makes the pivotal mistake of forgetting his father's watch when she was packing up Butch's things to skip town after winning the big bout. She also forgot to pack a bra, since her nips are beaming out of the white tee shirt she's brushing her teeth in. But one of the most famous scenes comes when Vince and Mia go to a 50's themed restaurant called "Jackrabbit Slims" where the waiters are dressed like pop stars of the era. Vince and Mia get Buddy Holly (Steve Buscemi) but watch as Marilyn Monroe (Susan Griffiths) does the famous upskirt thing from The Seven Year Itch (1955). We'd pay more than five dollars to see her shake it like that! You'll beat your meat to a pulp watching that scene in Pulp Fiction!