Q-TIPS MOVIE COLUMNIST
Treats, trifles and trivia from ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ and the pop culture-obsessed mind of director Quentin Tarantino
Set in the Los Angeles of 1969, Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is a masterful fable combining wholly fabricated characters and situations with real-life people and events.
For all its outlandish poetic license, “OUATIH” is bursting at
the seams with period-specific pop culture references, from movies to TV shows to pop songs to restaurants and movie theaters to L.A. radio stations to commercials for products such as Tanya tanning lotion and Certs breath mints (“with a sparkling drop of Retsyn”) to some truly deep drilling, e.g., a park bench ad touting a local news anchor from the period.
Which brings us to the moment when we must warn you the following piece contains almost nothing
but spoilers.
Last chance!
Now then: Here’s a look at many (but not even close to all) of the pop culture nods and inside-reference treats sprinkled throughout “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Special guest stars
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton is a fictional actor who starred on a fictional 1950s TV Western called “Bounty Law.” By 1969, Rick has been reduced to guest-starring on single episodes of actual TV shows from the time such as “Land of the Giants” and “The F.B.I.”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” features four veteran actors who actually guest-starred on “The F.B.I.” back in the day: Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, Clu Gulager and Brenda Vaccaro.
Playing at a theater near you
Brad Pitt plays Cliff Booth, Rick’s longtime stuntman, best friend, assistant/driver/fix-it guy/ you name it. As Cliff enters his trailer in the shadows of the Van Nuys Drive-In Theater, the TV is playing a clip of Robert Goulet delivering an old-school rendition of the trippy pop hit “MacArthur Park” — perfectly illustrating the sometimes ridiculous attempts by establishment entertainers of the time to connect with “the kids.”
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Cliff and Rick are stopped at an intersection when the 45-ish Cliff has the first of many chance encounters with Margaret Qualley’s Pussycat, a free-spirited hippie chick who’s maybe 18. The song playing on the radio is Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” from “The Graduate.” Ahem.
Legacy casting
Qualley, a brilliant actor and a star in the making, is the daughter of Andie MacDowell. “OUATIH” also features Rumer Willis (daughter of “Pulp Fiction” alum Bruce Willis and Demi Moore); Maya Hawke (daughter of “Kill Bill” star Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke); and Harley Quinn Smith (daughter of Kevin Smith and Jennifer Schwalbach Smith).
What’s all the ‘Hullabaloo’ about?
We see a TV clip of Rick looking painfully uncomfortable while doing a cheesy musical number on “Hullabaloo,” an actual American variety program from the mid1960s.
Hot August night
On a Sunday afternoon in February of 1969, Brad Pitt’s Cliff once again crosses paths with Margaret Qualley’s hitchhiking Pussycat. As Cliff pulls up, Neil Diamond’s “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show” is playing on the radio.
The opening lyrics:
At this moment, Cliff has no idea Pussycat is a member of a cult-like community slavishly devoted to Charles Manson.
Six months later, on Aug. 8, 1969 — the “hottest night of the year,” according to the narrator of the film — a pack of Manson “family” members will commit mass murder.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch …
The Spahn Movie Ranch — ad hoc headquarters for Manson and his zombie disciples — was an actual site for TV Westerns such as “Bonanza” and B-movies dating back to “The Outlaw” (1943), starring Jane Russell and directed by Howard Hughes — who was played by Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Aviator.”
Inspirations and influences
The relationship between Rick and Cliff is inspired in part by the longtime friendship and professional partnership of Burt Reynolds and stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham.
And as Tarantino told Jimmy Kimmel last week, he and Brad Pitt independently thought of Tom Laughlin’s “Billy Jack” character as a kind of kindred spirit to Cliff.
Less throat-burn than other brands
An end credits “cookie” scene features DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton in his “Bounty Law” wardrobe, shooting a commercial for Red Apple unfiltered cigarettes, which have appeared in previous Tarantinowritten and/or directed films including “Pulp Fiction,” “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Inglourious Basterds.”