Chick Habit

So I saw Grindhouse last night. SPOILERS AHEAD!

There’s been a lot of debate as to whether Rodriguez’s or Tarantino’s half is better; I gather that many viewers have found the Tarantino half talky and slow-moving. By my vote, however, the Tarantino half is far and away the better of the two halves. But those who liked it less were accurately tracking a fact: the Tarantino half just isn’t a grindhouse-type movie. It’s a Tarantino movie based on a grindhousesque plot device, which is another matter entirely. And Tarantino movies generally are mostly talk with a few vivid but brief incidents of violence. (Okay, that’s not true of Kill Bill, but it’s certainly true of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown.)

Quentin Tarantino The Tarantino half, Death Proof, is thus a striking contrast with the nonstop gorefest of Rodriguez’s half, Planet Terror; this was the Rodriguez of From Dusk Till Dawn (even down to the Mexican pyramid at the end) – an endless stream of adolescent grossouts with no emotional center or connection. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; I’m not denying that the Rodriguez half was fun. It’s just what it set out to be – a parody of zombie movies – and that sort of film doesn’t necessarily need to be anything but wacky and superficial. I didn’t much care which characters lived and which died – but so what? Planet Terror is the kind of feature you’re supposed to make if you’re contributing to a project like Grindhouse; it’s in the same spirit as the fake trailers (arguably it’s one of the fake trailers). Tarantino is the one who broke the rules by making a real movie.

Death Proof, unlike Planet Terror, is not a parody of anything. Like I said, it’s a Tarantino movie – a lot simpler in story structure than his other movies (it’s even told in straightforward linear sequence, which must have gone against his grain), but a Tarantino movie nonetheless. Tarantino movies are about people; they’re character-driven and dialogue-driven. And in Death Proof you definitely care who lives and who dies. And so I have to ask: what the hell is it doing in this movie, unequally yoked together with Planet Terror? Planet Terror followed by Death Proof is like a bowl of cheetos followed by a gourmet meal. And I worry that Death Proof will miss some of the audience it deserves (box office returns have reportedly been disappointing thus far) because people assume that Grindhouse is all cheetos.

Zoe Bell Death Proof also has an interesting feminist edge. What? A slasher pic that begins with the camera lingering lasciviously on women’s body parts, and goes on later in the film to graphic depictions of those bodies being brutally bludgeoned and ripped apart? How could that kind of movie have a feminist edge? Well, it does. And not merely because the surviving women turn the tables on the killer at the end – lots of slasher pics end that way, it’s a convention of the genre, and it doesn’t make those into feminist movies, to put it mildly. Now I can understand why some viewers might think the same applies to Death Proof. But what differentiates Death Proof from the typical slasher pic, to my mind, is the spirit in which it makes use of these conventions, and indeed the way it subverts those conventions in such a way as not simply to defeat but to deflate the male predator. In most slasher pics the slasher is terrifying up to the last minute, and is just barely defeated; the slasher’s stature is thus never truly undermined. The slasher pic may end on a note of relief, but rarely on a note of elated female empowerment; ’tis otherwise here. (One might even see the ending as a Randian/Tolkienian message here about the true nature of evil as “smutty and small”.) This is also a film about female solidarity (well, um, except when they leave the cheerleader girl behind – I’m not sure what to make of that scene), so I reckon it’s no coincidence that the final turning-the-tables is carried off by women working together, rather than, as in most slasher pics, either a lone woman or a man and woman together.

Death Proof There are scenes that invite us to regard the two halves of Grindhouse as happening in the same universe: a number of characters from Planet Terror make cameo appearances in Death Proof (and are clearly intended to be the same people), while one of the victims in Death Proof is briefly mentioned in Planet Terror as recently deceased. (I’m also pretty sure I saw a to-do list with “Kill Bill” on it in the background of one scene, though I’ll probably have to wait for the DVD to be sure. And this is definitely a must-get DVD – a number of scenes featured in televised trailers and previews, including but not limited to the two infamous “missing reels,” turn out to have been cut from the theatrical print for reasons of length, and will presumably be available only on DVD – unless you see it in overseas release where it’s being shown as two separate films. But I digress.) Anyway, these attempts to tie the two films into the same universe just don’t matter; there’s no way you can watch the final scene of Death Proof and think “wow, and just a few days later this town was invaded by zombies.” Back before the concept of “Elseworlds,” DC Comics used to run occasional stories outside of regular continuity – stories in which Superman married Lois Lane (before he really did), or lost his powers, or whatever – and these were somewhat paradoxically called “imaginary stories,” meaning they were fictional even within the framework of the comic. Planet Terror is an imaginary story, dammit!

One of Tarantino’s trademarks is the creative selection of pre-existing music; he’s really the chief successor of Kubrick here. The choice of April March’s quirky cover of “Chick Habit” for the closing credits is brilliant; the music is high-energy madness and the lyrics (much more apt, more clever, and more savage than the French original) apply perfectly. Here’s the song; and check out the original French version here and here. Here’s a lyrics comparison:

French lyrics My literal translation Cool movie translation
Laisse tomber les filles
laisse tomber les filles
un jour c’est toi qu’on laissera
laisse tomber les filles
laisse tomber les filles
un jour c’est toi qui pleurera  

Oui j’ai pleuré mais ce jour là
non je ne pleurerai pas
non je ne pleurerai pas
je dirai c’est bien fait pour toi
je dirai ça t’apprendra
je dirai ça t’apprendra

Laisse tomber les filles
laisse tomber les filles
ça te jouera un mauvais tour
laisse tomber les filles
laisse tomber les filles
tu le paieras un de ces jours

On ne joue pas impugnément
avec un coeur innocent
avec un coeur innocent
tu verras ce que je ressens
avant qu’il ne soit longtemps
avant qu’il ne soit longtemps

La chance abandonne
celui qui ne sait
que laisser les coeurs blessés
tu n’auras personne
pour te consoler
tu ne l’auras pas volé

Laisse tomber les filles
laisse tomber les filles
un jour c’est toi qu’on laissera
laisse tomber les filles
laisse tomber les filles
un jour c’est toi qui pleureras

Non pour te plaindre il n’y aura
personne d’autre que toi
personne d’autre que toi
alors tu te rappelleras
tout ce que je te dis là
tout ce que je te dis là

Drop the girls
drop the girls
one day it’s you who’ll get left
drop the girls
drop the girls
one day it’s you who’s going to cry  

Yes I have cried but on that day
no I’m not going to cry
no I’m not going to cry
I’ll say it serves you right
I’ll say that’ll teach you
I’ll say that’ll teach you

Drop the girls
drop the girls
that’ll play you a nasty trick
drop the girls
drop the girls
you’re going to pay one of these days

One does not play with impunity
with an innocent heart
with an innocent heart
you’re going to see what I feel
before very long
before very long

Fortune abandons
him who does not know
how to do anything but leave wounded hearts
you won’t have anyone
to console you
you won’t have stolen them

Drop the girls
drop the girls
one day it’s you who’ll get left
drop the girls
drop the girls
one day it’s you who’s going to cry

No, to pity you there’ll be
nobody but you
nobody but you
then you will remember
everything I’m telling you about it
everything I’m telling you about it

Hang up the chick habit
hang it up daddy
or you’ll be alone in a quick
hang up the chick habit
hang it up daddy
or you’ll never get another fix  

I’m telling you it’s not a trick
pay attention, don’t be thick
or you’re liable to get licked
you’re gonna see the reason why
when they’re spittin’ in your eye
they’ll be spittin’ in your eye

Hang up the chick habit
hang it up daddy
a girl’s not a tonic or a pill
hang up the chick habit
hang it up daddy
you’re just jonesin’ for a spill

Oh how your bubble’s gonna burst
when you meet another nurse
she’ll be driving in a hearse
you’re gonna need a heap of glue
when they all catch up with you
and they cut you up in two

Now your ears are ringing
the birds have stopped their singing
everything is turning grey
no candy in your till
no cutie left to thrill
you’re alone on a Tuesday

,

10 Responses to Chick Habit

  1. Administrator April 15, 2007 at 11:55 am #

    Also check out this review, which reminds me of one of Death Proof‘s great libertarian lines (how did I forget it?): “A chick needs a gun.”

  2. Wally Conger April 15, 2007 at 6:48 pm #

    You’ve written the best examination of GRINDHOUSE that I’ve seen. Thanks!

  3. Administrator April 16, 2007 at 2:58 pm #

    I just updated this post with an improved version of the Zoe Bell pic.

    If these two pictures look alike, blame your browser and/or connection, not me:

  4. Sag April 18, 2007 at 3:23 pm #

    What a great analysis. I got more out of it than the movie itself! I mostly agree. Only I enjoyed Rodriguez’ movie more probably because it was crazier. Having said that, I didn’t really like either movie all that much. Rodriguez’ for the above points you make. Tarantino’s because despite the above points, I found it ultimately banal – madman goes after girls then gets nailed. It didn’t seem to be about much beyond that. Or rather the feminist theme didn’t make up for the banal story for my taste.

    One ting is Rodriguez’ movie I thought truly great and funny was when “el grey”(?) thanks Bruce Willis’ character for his “service to our country” before he shoots him…

  5. Administrator April 22, 2007 at 11:06 am #

    “el grey”(?)

    His name was El Wray (according to the credits) and the name on his truck was “Wray,” but it’s supposed to sound like “El Rey” (“The King”).

  6. Sag April 23, 2007 at 4:16 pm #

    Knew I missed something there. Thanks for the clarification!

  7. Mark April 25, 2007 at 11:47 am #

    Btw, zombies are only bad if they’re on the other side. You punk bitches.

  8. Jeannie April 25, 2007 at 6:45 pm #

    Laisse Tombre Les Filles, wasn’t that used in the movie “But I’m a Cheerleader”?

  9. diz May 14, 2007 at 10:34 am #

    Yeah, “Laisse Tomber Les Filles” (probably April March’s version with the original name) was, if memory serves me, the song at the opening of “But I’m A Cheerleader”.

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