Jackie is definitely toward the bottom of the list of Tarantino’s most popular films and I feel that this often causes it to be unfairly overlooked.

For starters, I personally feel that this is Tarantino’s most ambitious film. I love to see an artist, no matter the medium, branch out and explore new ideas. Unless I am mistaken, JB was Tarantino’s first novel adaptation. Adapting a pre-existing story to be presented on film presents a new set of challenges in and of itself, particularly when it comes from a director who has previously worked almost exclusively with his own screenplays.

While some of the character portrayals give nods to his previous work, I think that the newer, sleeker, less “hip” appearance and mood of the film forced him to stray away from many of the techniques he had used on Res. Dogs and PF.

It’s not my favorite of his films but at least it doesn’t come in last place. (I have to admit that, even taking the exploitation film context into consideration I was disappointed by Death Proof) I don’t think you can call yourself a true Tarantino fan until you at least give JB a chance.

Alan: I can’t say enough about Bridget Fonda. In terms of career management she’s somewhere between her aunt Jane and her dad Peter, however, her wit and intelligence seem to come out in everything she does. I can’t imagine how much more believable Sex and the City would have been had Fonda accepted the role of Carrie Bradshaw.

Jeremy: I was hoping you’d comment. Did you notice that Tarantino not only acknowledged this film’s debt to Straight Time, but They All Laughed as well? I like all of Tarantino’s films as well and think that here, his post-Pulp Fiction weariness and lethargic pot smoking did lend themselves to this story.

Colleen: Your comment not only made me stop and try to decide which Tarantino film was my favorite (I arrived on Kill Bill) but which film throughout the history of great films I would want to live in. I’ll have to get back to you on that one. Thanks for visiting and leaving such an impassioned and erudite comment.

I’m most thrilled to see the mentions of Straight Time and They All Laughed in the context of visual source material. When I try to tell people why I love it so, I could tell them about the strong-sense-of-place criterion, but couldn’t explain what it was that made the movie so oddly comforting–like I wanted to crawl inside it and live there.

So far, I haven’t done so – but I will. Really!

I’ll strongly agree with one of your great points, Joe, that Bridget Fonda’s probably never been better. She’s always struck me as someone who might have been great but has just made miserable choices that she’s slummed through.