# Pulp Fiction - The Bonnie Situation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592 "2008-11-26T19:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/1 "2008-11-26T19:09:28Z")
So Jules calls Marsellus for assistance with the body in car and Marsellus tells him he’s sending along Winston Wolf. Winston takes a call from Marsellus. He’s in a bedroom. Before we see him, the camera briefly pans across the entrance to another room. I see maybe a dozen smartly dressed men and women having some kind of party. There is also a table, on which people seem to be playing some kind of casino game. Winston himself is dressed formally in black tie. Everybody looks as fresh as a daisy. It’s 8.20 am. Is this just a standard Los Angeles party that continues well into the following morning, or is there some symbolism or homage I am missing? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/2 "2008-11-26T19:46:12Z")
I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I’d guess it’s an almost exact copy of a scene in some movie from the late '60s or early '70s that’s stuck in Tarantino’s OCD brain. He doesn’t have an original bone, but he’s a great synthesist. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/3 "2008-11-26T19:55:42Z")
I always figured he was at a funeral, and that he was an undertaker or something of that nature–as in, he could “handle” bodies. That interpretation seemed to make sense until now. I hadn’t noticed anything that looked like a game before. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/4 "2008-11-26T19:57:45Z")
Better yet, why didn’t The Wolf just bring a damned U-haul big enough to drive the car up into and be gone with the damned thing? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/5 "2008-11-26T20:12:02Z")
I don’t think it symbolized anthing. I figured Tarantino just thought it made a better contrast to show that Wolff was able to get on the job within ten minutes while in the middle of a party than it would have been if he had been sitting at his kitchen table having a quiet breakfast and reading the paper. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/6 "2008-11-26T20:15:56Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Better yet, why didn’t The Wolf just bring a damned U-haul big enough to drive the car up into and be gone with the damned thing? Because you’d have to rent a U-Haul and that takes precious time. Plus, renting a U-Haul entails filling out forms and you definitely don’t want to leave a paper trail in a situation like that. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/7 "2008-11-26T20:16:30Z")
It’s been a while but I think I remember The Wolf saying he had to get back to a wedding when he left the junkyard? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/8 "2008-11-26T20:25:42Z")
He was taking his friend/lover to breakfast. So he was not in a big hurry to get back to what ever it was. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/9 "2008-11-26T20:37:03Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Because you’d have to rent a U-Haul and that takes precious time. Plus, renting a U-Haul entails filling out forms and you definitely don’t want to leave a paper trail in a situation like that. What, the mob can’t afford to own a trailer? You’d think moving conspicuous things on the sly would be a common occurrence for these people. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/10 "2008-11-26T20:40:58Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > I always figured he was at a funeral, and that he was an undertaker or something of that nature–as in, he could “handle” bodies. That interpretation seemed to make sense until now. I hadn’t noticed anything that looked like a game before. There’s definitely a table at the far end of the room. It’s covered in what looks like green baize, and several people are sitting round it playing some kind of game. ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/11 "2008-11-26T21:03:22Z")
If I recall correctly, it’s meant to be a cocktail party of some sort that has continued all night long and just hasn’t ended yet. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/12 "2008-11-26T21:13:42Z")
> [@](#): > > The CAMERA looks through the bedroom doorway of a hotel suite into the main area. We SEE a crap [sic] game being played on a fancy crap [sic] table by GAMBLERS in tuxedos and LUCKY LADIES in fancy evening gowns. The CAMERA PANS to the right revealing: sitting on a bed, phone in hand wih his back to us, the tuxedo-clad WINSTON WOLF aka “THE WOLF.” No explanation is given beyond that. Tarantino, Quentin. _Pulp Fiction: A Quentin Tarantino Screenplay_. New York: Hyperion, 1994. 126 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/13 "2008-11-26T21:20:56Z")
I buy **drillrod** ’s notion. I always thought it was a deal where Wolf is so friggin’ cool, that at 8:30 in the morning, while you’re still unwrapping your egg-a-muffin, you’ll find him at a coctail party in a tuxedo. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/14 "2008-11-26T22:09:14Z")
> [@](#): > > The CAMERA looks through the bedroom doorway of a hotel suite into the main area. We SEE a crap [sic] game being played on a fancy crap [sic] table by GAMBLERS in tuxedos and LUCKY LADIES in fancy evening gowns. The CAMERA PANS to the right revealing: sitting on a bed, phone in hand wih his back to us, the tuxedo-clad WINSTON WOLF aka “THE WOLF.” Yow! Every time I see this scriptwriting convention, it looks as if it is being read by Zippy the Pinhead. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/15 "2008-11-26T22:47:33Z")
It’s meant to imply that the Wolf lives in a world where there’s always a cocktail party going on. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/16 "2008-11-27T00:24:38Z")
Jack Batty; “I always thought it was a deal where Wolf is so friggin’ cool, that at 8:30 in the morning, while you’re still unwrapping your egg-a-muffin, you’ll find him at a coctail party in a tuxedo.” lissener; “It’s meant to imply that the Wolf lives in a world where there’s always a cocktail party going on.” That was my understanding too. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/17 "2008-11-27T02:25:46Z")
That’s definitely what it is. Tarantino has always been unapologetic about creating realities of his own design; if it suits his movie to have a man so cool he’s at a cocktail party at eight in the morning, then by Christ there will be cocktail parties in LA at eight in the morning. There’s a scene in “Kill Bill” where Uma Thurman is on a plane coming back from Okinawa, and she’s got her new sword with her on the plane. Many people pointed out that this seemed unlikely in a world where they won’t let you take anything sharper than a beach ball onto a plane. Tarantino acknowledged this and said words to the effect of “That’s absolutely correct, but the world of Kill Bill is not the real world, it’s a fantasy world. In that world, you’re allowed to take your sword with you on a plane. And if it’s a Japanese airline, they have a thing in your seat to hold your sword.” ---
**Author:** ![Vaderesque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e274bd/32.png) [@Vaderesque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaderesque)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/18 "2008-11-27T11:26:26Z")
I thought that The Wolf ran a brothel or something. I don’t know where I got that impression, or if I just made it up. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/19 "2008-11-27T15:52:10Z")
I assumed it was a private casino. Plenty of people gamble into the morning. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592/20 "2008-11-27T18:16:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Tarantino has always been unapologetic about creating realities of his own design; if it suits his movie to have a man so cool he’s at a cocktail party at eight in the morning, then by Christ there will be cocktail parties in LA at eight in the morning. > > There’s a scene in “Kill Bill” where Uma Thurman is on a plane coming back from Okinawa, and she’s got her new sword with her on the plane. Many people pointed out that this seemed unlikely in a world where they won’t let you take anything sharper than a beach ball onto a plane. Tarantino acknowledged this and said words to the effect of “That’s absolutely correct, but the world of Kill Bill is not the real world, it’s a fantasy world. In that world, you’re allowed to take your sword with you on a plane. And if it’s a Japanese airline, they have a thing in your seat to hold your sword.” Artistic license kicks ass. 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-the-bonnie-situation/474592.md?page=2)