A long awaited biography of the man known in Hollywood as Mr. Cool hasfinally arrived. Unfortunately, the book builds up to an anti-climax becauseSamuel L. Jackson's best days are behind him rather ahead of him. If it werepublished after Pulp Fiction, which shot him to fame, then everything thathappened to him prior to the release of that film would have beenpreparation for that moment in time. As it transpires, Jackson was only paidmore money per film after the Tarantino flick, and with the exception of ATime to Kill and 187, he didn't go on to appear in any better films to knockhis role of Jules Winnfield off its post. There were a few things that could have been done better in thepresentation of the book. For example, chapter 5 could have been headedRagtime, so that readers can be informed at a glance what his experienceswere on that film with James Cagney. Chapter 7 could have been headedGoodfellas, chapter 8 Jungle Fever, and chapter 11 Pulp Fiction.
If Pulp Fiction were the climax of the book, then everything that camebefore would have been wholly inspiring. Having graduated from MorehouseCollege and boasting an alumni of Dr. Martin Luther King and Spike Lee,Samuel L. Jackson is an example of a man who has secured his degree in Dramaand plied his trade on the stage during the seventies. He may play menacingand unkempt characters on screen, but that is not a reflection of the realperson. Although Jackson states that he is born into a working class family,he received a middle class education and assumes a middle class lifestyle(in spite of the fact that he detoured from social grace through hisintoxication of drugs).
One of the interesting things that the book throws up beyond PulpFiction is the disparity between salaries paid to his white contemporariesand himself. Whilst A-List actors can claim $20m per movie, Samuelprogressed to $6m for the Long Kiss Goodnight and then to $8 for subsequentprojects. He doesn't get to kiss the leading ladies either, but this is areflection of something that goes far deeper.
Jackson was 46 years old when he carved himself into immortality as thenostril flaring, mouth constricting Jules in Pulp Fiction. He is not exactlyeye candy for the girls, and for someone whose youth is behind him youcannot expect him to be doing the Pierce Brosnan thing. However, DenzelWashington, who is eye candy for many women from diverse sections of society,was prevented from kissing and having sex with Julia Roberts in The PelicanBrief because of the miscegenation problem. Clearly, Jackson is robbed ofsex on screen not because he's not the most handsome looking man, butbecause there is an unspoken rule that sex on screen is for whites only.Having said that, concessions can be made for black women to fornicate withwhite men (Thandie Newton and Tom Cruise - Mission Impossible ll). Thissuggests that if there is racial discrimination in the entertainmentbusiness it is against black men rather than black women, and black womencannot be used as an illustration of equal opportunities because black menare far more likely to be marginalized and excluded.
In conclusion then, the biography is like a novel with a beginning, anexciting middle but an extended ending that becomes counter-productive anddeflates into an anti-climax.
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