BY EMILY GAGNE
THE DL: In this Tony Scott-directed and Tarantino-penned 1993 flick, an Elvis-obsessed comic book store clerk named Clarence (Christian Slater) is forced to go on the run with his new, ex-prostitute wife (Patricia Arquette’s Alabama) after murdering her pimp and accidentally stealing a suitcase full of cocaine.
RESIDENT BAMF: While he’s only in a few scenes in the beginning (see: THE DL), this dubious honour must go to Bama’s dreadlocked and glass-eyed pimp, Drexl. You won’t even recognize Gary Oldman under the faux face tattoos and wacked out wannabe white rapper swagger (WAIT until you hear his Jamaican accent), but he’s definitely there and he’s definitely fucking brilliant.
WHAT A QT! (CLASSIC QUENTIN MOMENT): While there are countless ones here, my favourite is when Clarence and Alabama go on their first unofficial date. They catch a Sonny Chiba marathon before sharing pie and choice chit-chat on their favourite TV shows (The Partridge Family – although, we learn later that Bama never really liked it) and singers (The King, obvs) at a local diner. I have always felt that Clarence is the closest character to Quentin’s actual, pop culture-obsessed personality and Alabama is his ultimate dream girl.
PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC: Considering Clarence’s totally, sorta platonic thing for him (Val Kilmer actually portrays The King in some dream sequences!), I have to go with Charlie Sexon’s Elvis ode, “Graceland.”
NOTABLE QUOTABLE:
I always said, if I had to fuck a guy… I mean had to, if my life depended on it… I’d fuck Elvis.
– Clarence
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3yon2GyoiM]
As if this movie wasn’t insanely awesome enough, at one point Christopher Walken has a verbal showdown with Dennis Hopper.
