All He Needs is a Shelf of Bowling Trophies...

I was going through some blogs of film criticism and saw a number of surprisingly positive comments about 'Death Proof' - the Quentin Tarantino half of the 'Grindhouse' double feature.

So much of 'Grindhouse' evaporated from my mind mere days after seeing it (if there was any sign that a film should be dismissed, this is it), but when I try to summon up an image from it, this is what I get:

Quentin Tarantino as a bartender, a woman under each arm, weighing about 30 pounds more than the last time I saw him. And he's prattling on about the greatness of 70s cinema. And, accompanying that image, this revelation...

Quentin Tarantino is that creepy relative. You know, that uncle or cousin you can't really believe is related to you, but still, there he is at every family gathering. He sits in the corner and yammers on obsessively about some not totally geeky, but still a little odd topic. Say, maybe, bowling.

Yes, Tarantino is the bachelor uncle obsessed with bowling and he has a shelf of bowling trophies that he cares a little too much about. His entire life is a wreck, but on League Night, he is King of the Universe.

This was something of an "a-ha" moment for me.