Given that Stealing Pulp Fiction very much wears its Tarantino affection openly, you’d be forgiven for expecting director Danny Turkiewicz to have the same kind of flair as the very filmmaker he’s adoring. No, Turkiewicz isn’t replicating that same QT magic, but it would be a heavy ask to expect so, and on its own accord his Stealing Pulp Fiction is a serviceable comedy with grand ambitions that are perhaps not entirely realised.
Leaning on the unique chemistry and offbeat humour of its leads, Jon Rudnitsky and Karan Soni, Stealing Pulp Fiction indulges in its Tarantino-isms, with idiosyncratic dialogue and the drive-in score that accompanies the film’s title card, letting us in on the fact that, despite the narrative centering around literal theft at Tarantino’s expense, it’s made with evident love and respect for one of the greatest directors of our time.
Rudnitsky and Soni play Jonathan and Steve, best buds and cinema afficionados, whose love for Tarantino and, particularly, Pulp Fiction is easily telegraphed from the get-go. At a midnight screening of the film they learn that the print cans on site for its 35mm projection belong to the director himself, and, naturally, they hatch a plan to steal them. They have their bizarre reasons for doing so, but they know they can’t pull off such a heist by themselves, so they rope in their cynical, Tarantino-hating friend, Elizabeth (Cassie David), and their down-on-his-luck therapist, Dr. Mendelbaum (Jason Alexander), to assist.
It’s a random assortment of players to bounce off each other, and they all make the most of Turkiewicz’s material. Rudnitsky and Soni have quite an adorable dynamic (it almost feels romantic at times), David utilises her penchant for deadpan delivery, and Alexander, whilst perhaps not given as much to do, knows how to lean into his comedic sensibilities to enhance a role on the page that could’ve been more throwaway than what he allows. It’s ultimately the cast that elevate Stealing Pulp Fiction as, unfortunately, Turkiewicz never quites take advantage of the heist mentality and what such a scheme could lead to.
As well, the decision to feature a particularly exaggerated iteration of the director himself (Seager Tennis playing a caricaturish Quentin) will likely prove divisive. It’s all played in fun, but the overt nature of the performance feels like it needs to sit more comfortably in a comedy that really goes for an outlandish mentality, which is something that Stealing Pulp Fiction never quite hits. It pivots to something of a romantic focus in its final act which, as much as it keeps us invested in Jonathan and Steve’s plights, doesn’t feel as earned for a film that initially sells itself as a farcical caper.
Though Stealing Pulp Fiction doesn’t reach the heights its premise could have made way for, it still proves a breezy comedic watch, furthering the promise of predominantly short-feature director Turkiewicz, reminding us of how enjoyable a screen presence Rudnitsky and Soni are, and that the theatrical experience – as Jonathan and Steve so express – will always be committing a crime for.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Stealing Pulp Fiction is available on Digital and screening in select theatres in the United States from June 27th, 2025. For a list of which theatres will be showing the film, head to the official site here.
