This is an entertaining comedy/action movie set in the south
comprised of intertwining stories loosely connected by tangents. Not only the structure but the attitude and
much dialogue persuaded me that director Kramer must be a really big fan of Pulp Fiction. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,
but I found it a little surprising since I understood that the Tarantino craze
had mostly faded since the turn of the century.
The ironic, too-cool-for-school stance disseminated by Tarantino to
legions of admirers usually comes off as smart-assed and trite in lesser
filmmakers. Kramer isn’t miles above the
rest but I’d say he’s on the more admirable side; if only because he at least
transferred the plot from an urban to a rural environment. The sub-genre that I call “Tarantino-Lite” is
characterized by crisscrossing stories, comic-inspired chapter headings,
monologues in which characters express clever observations about a cultural
issue, startling bursts of violence, and appeals to sadism where we’re intended
to be either amused or at least unmoved by the torture of characters. A flimsy theme of redemption is usually
employed to make all of this seem deep.
But I’m criticizing the entire genre, not Pawn Shop Chronicles specifically.
I found the film enjoyable overall but the overfamiliarity of its
presentation and situations was pretty unimpressive. Since we anticipate each segment being so
short, it’s difficult to sustain any concern or interest in the stories. Why should we, since each segment is just a
small piece of a puzzle that’s basically a big joke? It’s not a bad film; a pretty impressive cast
and a good, flowing sense of absurdity makes it all watchable.
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