.jeri.

Continuing the thread of Michael Caine movies I've been watching lately, I took a recommendation and watched Pulp, in which he stars as a pulp fiction writer who is recruited to ghostwrite the autobiography of a faded old Hollywood actor. This is still the era when Michael Caine could saunter around in a cool suit and pretty much keep an audience entertained, but his character, Mickey King, opens up the movie with some really clever narration that promises a good time. I was sold in just a few minutes.

The method of King's recruitment for the ghostwriting job is very odd and eccentric, and before he even meets the person for whom he's supposed to work, he has a narrow brush with death. The actor, Preston Gilbert, is played by Mickey Rooney. This role is a big contrast with the characters he played in his youth, but even though it made me wince, it was kind of fun to watch too. Gilbert has ties with a lot of shady characters and dealings, and he's basically the biggest jerk in the world. He's loud, abusive, eccentric, obnoxiously nostalgic for his glory days, and forces everyone around him to give in to his whims. There's a great scene that takes place on his birthday, where he's surrounded by people who basically have connections to him but don't like him. I don't want to say how the scene ends, but I love the way it plays out.

Unfortunately by the halfway point, the movie starts to lose steam. The writing isn't as clever, the situations aren't interesting, some of the characters lose their charm, and it's generally slower. When the climactic scene is finally reached, it doesn't feel like it fits in with the rest of the movie, and it's all over much quicker than expected.

I started off loving the movie, but as it progressed, I lost a sense of involvement quickly. Honestly, I think the script just felt lazy by the end. It wasn't as clever, and the sense of fun disappeared. You might be interested in watching it as a fan of Caine's iconic days, but other than that, I can't say I'd recommend it in its own right.