You can’t have a “Pulp Fiction” reunion without Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta.
But can you have a “Pulp Fiction” reunion without a dancing Thurman and Travolta?
Not according to the Academy Awards, which had the actors get down before presenting the award for best actor with Jackson, who received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards Friday (which are not included in the Oscars broadcast).
The 2022 Oscars, while now primarily associated with Will Smith hitting Chris Rock for a joke he made about Jada Pinkett Smith, were also filled with a series of cinematic reunions and anniversaries.
Englewood native Travolta, who went viral when he mispronounced Idina Menzel’s name as “Adele Dazeem” at the 2014 Oscars, reenacted his best Vincent Vega moves as Thurman channeled Mia Wallace.
In “Pulp Fiction,” Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 classic, Mia volunteers them both for a dance contest. Vincent reluctantly agrees to bust some moves to Chuck Berry’s 1964 song “You Never Can Tell” so Mia can have the trophy she covets. In their impromptu number, they embrace ’60s dances like the twist, the swim, the monkey and the Batusi (from Adam West’s “Batman”).
Travolta and Thurman drew warm applause for dancing to the same song at the Oscars. Standing at the podium between them with a briefcase was Jackson, who played Jules Winnfield in the film.
“Some actors stay in character through an entire shoot,” he said. “And some, well, they just never let it go.”
“Maybe later we’ll have a $5 milkshake,” Thurman, 51, told Travolta in another nod to the events of “Pulp Fiction.” (”I don’t know if it’s worth $5, but it’s pretty f---ing good,” Vincent tells Mia after he takes two sips of her drink.)
“Yeah,” said Travolta, 68. “How about a Royale with cheese?” (In the film, Vincent tells Jules that’s what they call a quarter pounder with cheese at McDonald’s in Paris.)
“See what I mean? said Jackson, 73.
The “Pulp Fiction” actors were all nominated for Oscars for their performances in the movie, which won Tarantino and Roger Avary the Oscar for best original screenplay in 1995.
Thurman, Jackson and Travolta presented Will Smith with the Oscar for best actor, which was the second time the “King Richard” star was onstage after his incident with Chris Rock.
The 50th anniversary of “The Godfather” also brought director Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to the Oscars stage. The 15th anniversary of “Juno” reunited Elliot Page, Jennifer Garner and J.K. Simmons, while the 30th anniversary of “White Men Can’t Jump” had Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez and Woody Harrelson out as presenters.
Surfing champion Kelly Slater, skateboarding pioneer Tony Hawk and Olympic snowboarder Shaun White marked the 60th anniversary of James Bond by cueing up a montage.
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter.