"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood": Where Were You in 1969?

 Wait -- Leonardo DiCaprio is 46 years old, and Brad Pitt is...ulp... 57?  When did that happen?

Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf, and I don't feel so well myself.

They are together in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019):

Rick Dalton (Leo), once the star of a popular tv Western, is now (in 1969) relegated to guest-spots as villains on other people's shows.  His friend Cliff Booth (Brad), "more than a brother but less than a wife," can't find work either, and works as Rick's assistant and driver.

We see them going through a typical day.  Rick preps for a guest spot as a villain on Lancer, starring a star-struck James Stacy (left), played by Timothy Oliphant; bonds with the very precocious 8-year old Trudi Fraser (Jodie Foster?), who plays his victim; can't remember his lines and flubs two scenes; and invites Cliff over to watch tv, order pizza, and spend the night.

Meanwhile, Cliff takes his shirt off (what Brad Pitt movie doesn't require him to take his shirt off?), gets fired from a stunt job for beating up Bruce Lee (played by Mike Moh), and picks up a hippie chick who lives at Spahn's Movie Ranch.  There he spars with several other members of the cultlike hippie "family," including Tex Watson, Susan Adkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkle.  Sound familiar?

Although both are established as heterosexual, the bromance between Cliff and Rick has a deliberate gay subtext.  They'll only hug in private (hint-hint), Cliff has his own place, but often spends the night with Rick (hint-hint); in the final scene, Cliff turns out to be "more than a wife": Rick definitively chooses him over her. 

Rick (and Cliff, when he sleeps over) live next door to famous director Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) and his girlfriend Sharon Tate (Margo Robbie), but they don't have the nerve to go over and introduce themselves.  We see a typical day in Tate's life, too: she picks up a hitchhiking hippie chick from Spahn's Movie Ranch (ulp!), buys a book for her boyfriend, and goes to a screening of her movie, a spy spoof starring Dean Martin called The Wrecking Crew.

Not to worry, both Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate's sister liked the script.

On August 8th, 1969, Rick and Cliff have just returned from six months in Italy, where Rick starred in some spaghetti Westerns.  Rick has just married his co-star, and there are no jobs in the foreseeable future, so he has has no money, and can't afford to have Cliff living with him anymore.  They are both heartbroken over this decision.  Leaving the jet-lagged wife asleep, the two go out to dinner, and come home extremely drunk.

Meanwhile, Roman Polanski is away making a movie, so the eight-month pregnant Sharon Tate invites some friends over: her ex-boyfriend Jay Sebring; coffee heiress Abigal Folger; and her boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski.  

Around midnight, some hippies from Spahn Ranch, on order from Charles Manson to go to the Polanski house and kill everyone inside, make a wrong turn and end up at Rick's house.  

I'm not going to say what happens next, but it's quite different from what really happened that night.  This is a fairy tale, after all: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Beefcake: Some hunks at a pool party, and Brad Pitt shirtless.  What more do you want?

Gay Characters: Deliberate gay subtext between Cliff and Rick.

Heterosexism: None.  Rick's wife seems mostly a publicity stunt, and she definitely plays second fiddle to the great love of his life, Cliff.

Feet: I could do without the closesups of shoes and bare feet, especially the ones that take up a quarter of the screen.  It is possible for a girl to sit without shoving her feet into the air, you know.

1960s: An amazing number of famous names, movies, tv shows, songs, and even iconic streets from the Hollywood of the era appear or are referenced.  If you were alive during the late 1960s, you'll  probably be overwhelmed by nostalgia.  If not, you'll be constantly asking your partner "Who's that?  Was that a real show?  Did that really happen?" 

My grade: A if you remember 1969, B+ if you don't.

See also: Nude Photos of Brad Pitt

Nude Photos of Leonardo DiCaprio