History Film / OnceUponATimeInHollywood

** Booth, for his part, resembles Wrestling/GeneLeBell, a stuntman and martial artist that had a scuffle getting the upper hand over Creator/BruceLee and was also involved in an unclear murder. However, the death of Cliff Booth's wife Billie and the ambiguity surrounding it are also a reference to Creator/NatalieWood, as is Billie's sister being named Natalie.

** The death of Cliff Booth's wife Billie — and the ambiguity surrounding it — is a reference to Creator/NatalieWood, as is Billie's sister being named Natalie.

* GilliganCut: During Rick's breakdown in his trailer, he tells his reflection that he needs to stop drinking or he will blow his own brains out. The scene immediately cuts to Rick taking a swig out of his flask before realizing what he just did and hurling it out the door.

In [[TheSixties 1969]] UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, television actor Rick Dalton (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio) and his StuntDouble Cliff Booth (Creator/BradPitt) embark on an odyssey to rebuild their reputations in Hollywood after the cancellation of the WesternSeries they were employed on, ''Bounty Law''. Rick's neighbor in Tinseltown happens to be Creator/SharonTate (Creator/MargotRobbie).

In [[TheSixties 1969]] UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, television actor Rick Dalton (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio) and his StuntDouble Cliff Booth (Creator/BradPitt) embark on an odyssey to rebuild their reputations in the Hollywood after the cancellation of the WesternSeries they were employed on, ''Bounty Law''. Rick's neighbor in Tinseltown happens to be Creator/SharonTate (Creator/MargotRobbie).

** In a straight example, in the Latin American Spanish dub, Lee is voiced by Creator/CarloVazquez, who previously voiced him in the Latin American dub of ''The Legend Of Bruce Lee''.

In [[TheSixties 1969]] UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, television actor Rick Dalton (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio) and his StuntDouble Cliff Booth (Creator/BradPitt) embark on an odyssey to rebuild their reputations in the Hollywoodian film industry after the cancellation of the WesternSeries they were employed on, ''Bounty Law''. Rick's neighbor in Tinseltown happens to be Creator/SharonTate (Creator/MargotRobbie).

** Alternatively, maybe the cigarette wasn't laced with LSD at all, and the hippie selling it was just duping the guy to pay 50 cents (more than the average price of a whole pack of cigarettes in 1969[[https://247wallst.com/special-report/2017/06/14/price-of-a-pack-of-cigarettes-the-year-you-were-born/3/]]) for an old, brownish, but normal cigarette; his reaction being the result of drunkenness and placebo effect.

** [[Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio Rick Dalton]] is [[spoiler: ''almost'' assassinated while [[Film/TheGreatGatsby lounging in his swimming pool]], though unlike in that film he survives the attempt and in fact turns the tables on his would-be killer]].

* AuthorAppeal: As is typical for a Tarantino film, there are a couple of lingering shots of women's bare feet, mainly Sharon Tate in the movie theater, Pussycat's on the windshield of Rick's car, Squeaky's while she's sitting in a recliner, and a surprising amount of ''men's'' bare feet. Justified in a few cases, as it's set in UsefulNotes/{{California}} in 1969, and many of the women are hippies who [[DoesNotLikeShoes don't wear shoes]].

** DiscussedTrope. Schwarz tells Rick that Hollywood has a habit of casting older actors in villain roles so the younger and more bankable stars can beat them in a fight and impress the audience.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The final act of the film is dedicated to completely taking apart [[spoiler:the mythology of the Manson murderers by having them run up [[AlwaysABiggerFish against opponents who aren't even well-prepared but have the ability to defend themselves]], exposing the family as a bunch of idiots rather than the exotic boogeymen they became in pop culture in the decades following their crimes.

** [[spoiler: The Family's original and sadly real-life plan]] is just as idiotic. Murdering random people in the hopes of starting a race war which would also lead to a "family" member being freed.

** The film's climax shows (in ''great and graphic detail'') how [[spoiler:the Manson Family only succeeded in their brutal murderers in RealLife because they were ambushing a pregnant woman and her sleepy guests, none of whom were versed well in self-defense. When the family loses the element of surprise and instead goes after an action star who has some weapons training, his highly-trained stunt double (who is also a war veteran) and said stuntman's vicious attack dog, they get [[CurbStompBattle their butts gruesomely handed to them]].]]

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: It would be nearly impossible to get high from a cigarette laced with LSD. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) is an unstable organic compound that degrades rapidly at high temperatures. Setting it on fire while it's in a cigarette would destroy it pretty quickly. Lacing cigarettes with PCP or embalming fluid is much more common specifically because those molecules are more stable and can handle the heat.
** Not to mention the fact that even if smoking tobacco laced with LSD successfully administers the drug, not nearly enough time had elapsed for Cliff to be significantly affected by it. It can take up to an hour and a half for LSD to take hold, and even longer for the visual hallucinations to set in (Cliff waves his hand repeatedly in the air, clearly bemused by image trails).

** Most Mexican minor characters are heard speaking their native Spanish but otherwise understand English with no problem, and English speakers also understand them as well. This is TruthInTelevision, as Hollywood, like many other places in California, is home to large Mexican communities.

** These examples both count as a bit of a BrickJoke, given that this is one of the elements of [[SpaghettiWestern Spaghetti Westerns]] we're specifically told Rick dislikes.

** See also BilingualDialogue above.

* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: [[spoiler:Cliff]] is suspected to have killed his wife, but was never convicted. Despite this, everyone in the film business thinks he's guilty, and many refuse to work with him.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The final act of the film is dedicated to completely taking apart [[spoiler:the mythology of the Manson murderers, by having them run up [[AlwaysABiggerFish against an opponent who isn't even well-prepared but has the skills to defend himself]]. An AlternateHistory is created when Rick Dalton (wearing a robe and holding a blender full of frozen margarita) comes out and ''drunkenly rips them a new one'' for driving an old, loud car up the road, thus giving away their position. When they retreat, one of the members proposes killing ''Rick'' instead, under the belief they should instead kill the person who inspired them to kill via all those old war movies (and this is a spur-of-the-moment harebrained scheme by an unstable hippie). This immediately leads to one of the members to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere flee from the scene]] once she gets an opportunity. The remaining three attackers show up at Rick's house... only to run into Cliff, who is able to fight them off easily due to the fact that he has more combat experience and they're hippies who spend most of their days sitting around getting high - intimidating the three, with their [[SmallNameBigEgo gradiose threats falling completely flat]], now that they're not facing a pregnant woman and two actors, before they're brutally killed - mauled to death by a dog, [[FacialHorror mashed against a post until their face is caved in,]] and set on fire. Afterwards, Rick mocks the attackers' threats for the benefit of Jay Sebring, one of the original victims of the real-life attack]]. In general, Manson's goons are portrayed as idiots and cowards who would've died in a fair fight and not the mystical masterminds the Manson family are often worshiped as.

* MundaneUtility: Who needs a ladder when LeParkour can get you to the roof?

* LighterAndSofter: The movie is largely devoid of Tarantino's trademark violence and bad behavior for most of its nearly three-hour runtime, and has been described by many critics as more of an amiable, retro "[[SliceOfLife hangout movie]]". Compared to the violent criminals who tend to populate Tarantino's movies, the main characters in this film are basically a rather vain, addled and egotistical but essentially decent-natured actor and his taciturn stunt double (who is albeit not without some clouds in his past). The movie also has a surprisingly gentle side given its director, such as Trudi's praise of Rick's acting moving him to tears, and the movie upholding Sharon Tate as a beacon of sunny 60's Hollywood dreams. [[spoiler:While the climax is still [[{{Gorn}} rather brutally violent]], it's also fairly unusual for a Tarantino movie (which tend to kill off [[AnyoneCanDie lots of likable main characters]]) in that nobody dies except [[AssholeVictim the Manson family members.]]]]

* MethodActing: InUniverse with Trudi Fraser, Rick's precocious co-star. She prefers to be addressed by her character's name when she's on set, and won't eat lunch before shooting a scene because being full might make her sluggish -- concerns that Rick, with his more old-school style, wouldn't think of.

* LighterAndSofter: The movie is largely devoid of Tarantino's trademark violence and bad behavior for most of its nearly three-hour runtime, and has been described by many critics as more of an amiable, retro "[[SliceOfLife hangout movie]]". Compared to the violent criminals who tend to populate Tarantino's movies, the main characters in this film are basically a rather vain, addled and egotistical but essentially decent-natured actor and his taciturn stunt double (who is albeit not without some clouds in his past). [[spoiler:While the climax is still [[{{Gorn}} rather brutally violent]], it's also fairly unusual for a Tarantino movie (which tend to kill off [[AnyoneCanDie lots of likable main characters]]) in that nobody dies except [[AssholeVictim the Manson family members.]]]]

** Francesca, Rick's wife, doesn't have a lot of scenes to herself but she's quite kind to Cliff's dog.

* BookEnds: Early in the movie, Rick talks about how having the Polanskis as neighbors means he might one day get invited into their house, something which could help him net a big role. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:the commotion of Cliff and Rick killing the Manson cultists leads to the Polanskis inviting Rick in for a drink]].

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Rick Dalton is basically an {{Expy}} of real-life [[Creator/SteveMcQueenActor Steve McQueen]], who is a character in this movie. Dalton and [=McQueen=] were both stars of TV Western series about bounty hunters, Rick in the fictional ''Bounty Law'' and [=McQueen=] in the RealLife ''Wanted Dead or Alive''. Both Rick and [=McQueen=] were up for the same part in ''The Great Escape''. [=McQueen=] got it and became a huge star while Rick is the WhatCouldHaveBeen version of [=McQueen=] who's down to TV guest spots while trying to revive his career in spaghetti westerns.

* CoolCar: In a film full (more than 2000!) of vintage 60s autos, Rick's yellow '66 Coupe de Ville stands out. [[note]]Fun fact: It's the same car driven by Mr. Blonde in ''Film/ReservoirDogs''. (Not the same model; ''the same car''.)[[/note]]

** Cliff asks George Spahn, now blind, if his girlfriend, Squeaky Fromm, is the redhead. Spahn angrily replies he's '''blind''' and has no idea what her hair colour is.

** Cliff asks George Spahn, now blind, if his girlfriend, Queaky Fromm, is the redhead. Spahn angrily replies he's '''blind''' and has no idea what her hair colour is.

* AskAStupidQuestion: Rick is shown practicing with a flamethrower for a role, and after recoiling, asks if it has to be so hot. The response was [[ShapedLikeItself it was a flamethrower]].

The cast also includes Creator/DakotaFanning as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Creator/DamianLewis as [[Creator/SteveMcQueenActor Steve McQueen]], Creator/DamonHerriman as UsefulNotes/CharlesManson, Creator/BruceDern as George Spahn, [[note]]the role was initially to be played by Creator/BurtReynolds, who passed away before shooting began[[/note]] Creator/TimothyOlyphant as James Stacy, Creator/EmileHirsch as Jay Sebring, Creator/LukePerry as Wayne Maunder (his final role), Mike Moh as Creator/BruceLee, Creator/AlPacino as Marvin Schwarz, and Nicholas Hammond as Sam Wanamaker.