Ah, 1996. I was thirteen and entirely too young to be watching From Dusk till Dawn. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a bloody vampire movie with anti-gay slurs, racism, and many, many uses of the word pussy. In one scene, the protagonists are filling condoms with holy water, and I thought they were water balloons.
Then there’s the famous segment when Salma Hayek’s character, a vampire burlesque dancer, performs, and naturally, her foot ends up in Quentin Tarantino’s face. My husband Andrew and I were discussing that scene the other day; he was telling me about a skit that amused him regarding the foot-licking: “The director’s like, ‘Take 37’, like he’s really enjoying sucking her toes.” Me: “Who wouldn’t? [He looks at me quizzically.] If 28-years-ago Salma Hayek wanted to stick her foot in your mouth, you’d let her. Well, not when you were eight. [Continues to give me a funny look.] Okay, if you could go back in time to 1996…” Andrew: “You’re just making it worse, dear.”
The song “She’s Just Killing Me” by ZZ Top was used prominently in the movie’s soundtrack. If you’ve never seen the music video (I hadn’t until now, but this song was aaaaaall over the radio–it was the ’90s, we listened to the radio), concert footage and movie clips are crosscut with George Clooney riding a motorcycle to a fancy house, playing a piano, seeing Salma Hayek menacingly pop up in the window and looking unrealistically indifferent, playing basketball, and finally encountering Hayek, who puts on lipstick just to bite him. After being reminded what a jackass Clooney’s character is in the movie, it’s a pretty satisfying ending.
GhoulieJoe 