MovieChat Forums > Pulp Fiction (1994) Discussion > Winston Wolf...

Winston Wolf...

posted a year ago by jcdugger (372)
14 replies | jump to latest

I've always wondered...

1) "It's 30 minutes away...I'll be there in 15". First of all, that's impossible. You're not going to shave 15 minutes off a 30-minute drive no matter what you do, basic traffic will ensure this. But let's say he did...was it worth potentially getting pulled over to save 15 minutes? You're going to be traveling at least DOUBLE the speed limit the entire drive...not sure if that's the wise decision. What if he got pulled over? Vincent and Jules would have been standing there with their D's in their hands when Bonnie got home!

2) How in the world would one even get this job?! I assume a guy in that position has solved a problem or two in tough times previously...but is he doing it so often that you just make it his job?! I also wonder how many work orders he runs out for Marcellus during a typical year.

3) Did he ever run into a problem he felt was unsolvable?! Like "What TF u want me to do about this one?!"

[–] moviechatterer (15583) a year ago

1) yeah

2) Well its basically a Project Manager job , you're success rate and flexibility with the law dictate how high and which direction that career goes.
I bet Wolf has done the top Prince2 certification course

3) I guess if the "What TF u want me to do about this one?!" comes from someone as experienced and qualified as WW Marcellus accepts it , and WW suggests what the best they can do to mitigate it is , in lieu of solving it.

[–] Seperatrix (1213) a year ago

I never really understood what he (the Wolf) did to help anyway.

He basically told them to clean up the mess and not to attract attention while driving.

Was it worth wasting the time to wait for him to show up only to hear that advice? Seems like they'd know how to take a shower and begin cleaning the car without any guidance.

I think the whole premise was dialed up only to provide an opportunity to squeeze in a couple of jokey moments. See: Vincent and Jules squabbling over proper hand washing.

[–] g-bone (562) a year ago

Lol. I always thought the same thing. Pretty common sense stuff. Only thing he really did was help get rid of the body and car at the junkyard.

[–] DancingintheDark (1609) a year ago

Wolf was the calm amidst the storm, people do unbelievably stupid things when stress, anxiety…., what have you is involved, and he managed stressful situations dispassionately.
The majority of people who engage in criminal type behavior are relatively stupid, whether the act is petty, violent or white collar, it makes no difference, the majority get caught at some point, so yea, The Wolf was an invaluable resource to Wallace’s organization.

[–] Seperatrix (1213) a year ago

"The majority of people who engage in criminal type behavior are relatively stupid people, whether petty, violent or white collar, it makes no difference, the majority get caught at some point . . "

Yeah I considered that. As you pointed out when in stress people can do -- or not do -- the most obvious thing.

I suppose the fact that they needed to be told to do the obvious is comical in and of itself, without the jokes thrown in.

[–] DancingintheDark (1609) a year ago

Another thing, Travolta’s character, although played to perfection, was borderline idiotic. Vincent was not only addicted to heroin but was actively using throughout his professional undertakings. He’s high when taking his boss’s wife out on a friendly date, and because of this, she OD’s on the smack that he’s carrying with him. Even his death is related to his heroin use, he’s always going to the bathroom because opiates constipate you.
When you have people like this this working for you, it behooves one to have someone like Winston on the payroll to ensure high stake situations are managed competently.
And yes, I agree, having Winston bark orders at Vincent and Jules to do something that seems overtly obvious did add a bit of humor to the scene.

[–] FilmBuff (7234) a year ago

That's easy to say from your couch at home, but if you and a friend found yourself driving through the Valley with a headless body and a car full of brains, and ended up at some third friend's house, you may not know where to start. You also don't have a wad of cash to bribe Jimmy, or a place to take the car and body. A lot of people would do something dumb, like try to bury the body, or abandon the car and light it on fire, or just run around confused until the wife comes home. Wolf is a resourceful person who can formulate a plan in an instant, keep calm and direct people to complete the plan, and sweet talk or bribe people to participate in the plan. He also has access to things like junkyards that dispose of dead bodies.

[–] Seperatrix (1213) a year ago

His connection to a junkyard for body disposal is paramount of course.

It's just that a quick phone conversation ala "clean up the mess and here's the address of the junkyard you'll need to go to" would appear to suffice - as opposed to sitting around waiting for someone to show up.

But as mentioned above, I get it, in a high stress situation people sometimes need to be told the obvious.

Hopefully none of the neighbors were peeking out the window when they had the hose cleaning in the yard.

[–] mtxmind (3296) a year ago

1, 2, & 3- It's a Tarantino film. It's what he does. It's called "Pulp Fiction" for a reason.

[–] FilmBuff (7234) a year ago

1. I took it to be a tongue-in-cheek statement, meant to express to them that he understood the gravity of the situation and would not waste time in getting there. It did not seem like a serious statement.

2. My assumption is that this isn't the entirety of his job. He's great at keeping calm under pressure, and solving outside-the-box problems, but probably does other things, too. Marsellus calls him in when he has a situation akin to the one we see in the film, but he probably does something else as his main gig. If I had to guess, he's the guy who negotiates deals between various parties interested in doing business together, and/or negotiates resolutions when similar deals go badly.

3. Probably, though I'm going to assume he always worked it out. A resourceful person pretty much always does.

[–] davodikum (6197) a year ago

Time was a factor, he had to speed.

It aint in the yellow pages, but being a fixer is a job.

Probably, but what's that got to do with the price of rice. Save that for the Winston Wolf movie.

[–] Elvisp23 (389) 2 months ago

He actually says I’ll be there in about 10, get it right

[–] moviechatterer (15583) 2 months ago

but was the first figure right (30m) .
...or was it 15 down to 10

[–] MikeCable (1839) 2 months ago

He took charge in a crisis and had experience and connections to help take care of the urgent problem, gave the others confidence everything will be okay.

He was a very interesting character creation. Love how he takes down the notes of the names and situation on his notepad before leaving and drives the NSX like a maniac, and then upon arrival he asks for the coffee.

I wish we could have seen a scene of them driving to the car yard and how he would handle a cop car pulling up next to them.

They should have made a spin-off trilogy about Winston.