The Man John Travolta Was (Almost) Quiz

Answer: Pulp Fiction (1994)

Vincent Vega is a hitman from Redondo Beach who rolls his own cigarettes and loves his steak "bloody as hell". Not only does he look cool with his hair in a ponytail and sporting a suit with a bolo tie, he remains cool in the face of danger. Cool is probably not the right word; indifferent would be a better way to describe his attitude. We first meet Vincent as he and his partner, Jules Winnfield, are on their way to a "hit" and are casually discussing the way fries (chips) are eaten in European countries. One of the most memorable scenes is the dance competition at Jackrabbit Slims where Mia (the boss's wife) ropes Vincent into it. Travolta shows that he still hasn't lost those dance moves that stood him well in the 1970s.

(Footnote) Vincent Vega is the brother of Vic Vega (Mr Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs" - 1992), who was killed in that film by an undercover detective.

Answer: The Punisher (2004)

Howard Saint is the head of a mighty crime family. On the surface he is a sophisticated and affable businessman; however, scratch at that surface and you will uncover a violent and callous man who doesn't give two hoots about anyone apart from his immediate family and his best friend Quenton Glass.

When one of his sons is killed by FBI agent Frank Castle during a sting operation, his murderous side rises to the fore and he swears deadly vengeance on Castle. His wife, Livia, is an even nastier piece of work and suggests to Howard that he wipes out the FBI agent's entire family in the process.

The problem that Howard now faces is... Frank Castle survived the attack.

Answer: Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Tony Manero was the star of "Saturday Night Fever" and he ended up making a star out of a very young John Travolta. Manero has just left high school, is not enjoying life at home where he is constantly at odds with his father and he has serious doubts that his job at the paint shop is going to amount to something.

His escape is the local disco where he is the king of the dance floor. It is also the place where his life changes dramatically when he meets the talented Stephanie Mangano. Travolta's performance led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and his slick dance moves inspired a generation of disco enthusiasts.

Answer: Get Shorty (1995)

Chili Palmer is a loan shark who thinks that he is both cool and tough. This becomes self evident when he describes himself in the following manner: "If you were to cast me in a movie, I could see myself in the parts that Robert De Niro plays. Or maybe even an Al Pacino movie." Chili is also a film buff, so one of his favourite assignments is to travel to Hollywood to collect money from horror movie film-maker Harry Zimm. Chili gets on well with Harry but he would rather get on better with Harry's girlfriend, Karen.

He feels that Karen can do better and that he (Chili) is the better.

Answer: Hairspray (2007)

The title of this quiz is "The Man John Travolta Was (Almost)". This is the "almost" bit. Edna is not a man, she is a woman. She is also the mother of Tracey, the film's lead character. Edna is obese and she worries about her weight and her appearance, so much so that she doesn't leave the house. That all changes when two things happen. First, Tracey decides to make Edna her manager/agent, which means she need to step out to negotiate a contract with Mr Pinky of the Hefty Hideaway boutique.

The second is that she meets and becomes friends with "Motormouth" Maybelle who teaches her that "big is beautiful".

In case you think that casting John Travolta (a male) in this role is unusual, think again. Edna's role is usually played by a man, dating back to the original 1988 movie where she was played by Divine and the 2002 Broadway stage production where she was played by Harvey Fierstein.

Answer: Battlefield Earth (2000)

Terl is an alien warlord who has been banished to Earth, a penal colony, to supervise the prison works. This has been a demotion of sorts for Terl, for some incident between he and a Senator's daughter. Terl is an insensitive creature; he is arrogant and he is a bully. Oh, and he likes to shoot cows. He also has a keen intellect but, unfortunately, it is combined with a savage greed for gold. All of these traits (except for the cow shooting bit) combine to create a flawed plan to accumulate some serious wealth so that Terl can then buy his way off the planet. This eventually leads to the downfall of, not only his planet's hold on Earth, but his peoples' very existence.

(Footnote) The full title of the film is "Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000".

Answer: Broken Arrow (1996)

Major Deakins is a US Air Force pilot driven by greed and is utterly ruthless and totally fearless. He steals two nuclear bombs for a terrorist organisation but those plans are thwarted somewhat by his pupil, Captain Riley Hale, so he, just as smoothly, holds the US government to ransom for $250 million. Nice work if you can get it. Deakins is blessed with above average levels of stamina and possesses both a superior pain threshold and a genius level of intellect. Travolta virtually plays Deakins with tongue planted firmly in cheek and a performance that goes way over the top.

Answer: Grease (1978)

Danny Zuko is the leader of a greaser gang known as the T-Birds. He comes complete with an elephant trunk hairstyle, a black leather jacket and a cocky swagger. Then the unthinkable happens... he falls in love with a "nice" girl named Sandy, which has a negative impact on his reputation.

He tries to bluff his way through this by being rude to Sandy, he loses her, realises that she is "the one" and then goes to all sorts of lengths to try and win her back. This includes joining the athletics team to prove he can be a jock and... wait for it, discarding his leather jacket for a letterman sweater (gasp)! The leather jacket does return when Sandy arrives back on the scene wearing a very tight female version of the T-Bird outfit.

Answer: Face/Off (1997)

Sean Archer has it in for his arch-enemy, Castor Troy (played by a crazy eyed Nicolas Cage). Troy managed to kill Archer's son while he was trying to assassinate Archer. Long story short, Archer manages to capture Castor Troy and his brother Pollux. Just before Castor winds up in a coma, he goads Archer about a bomb that he's planted in the city. Archer is desperate to find the bomb, but Pollux won't talk and Castor is out of it. What's a man to do? He changes faces of course. Archer undergoes an operation that makes him look like Castor so he can get into jail and get the secret out of Pollux. While he's inside Castor wakes up. Forces the doctor to put Archer's face onto him and he becomes Archer. He also kills the few people that know about the switch and proceeds to take over Archer's life, wife and job. Far out, man!

This was an amazing piece of work by both Cage and Travolta. First they have to get into character then, at some point in the movie, they have to become the other character. This was not just a case of learning lines, Travolta had to learn how play Cage's role, the way that Cage would have played it, crazy eyes and all and vice versa for Cage.

Answer: The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

Ryder is a nefarious loudmouth who sports a wolfish grin and a tattooed neck. He has hijacked a New York Subway train and now holds the city to ransom, demanding that $10 million be delivered to him within the hour or he starts killing a hostage every minute thereafter. Travolta, as Ryder, and Denzel Washington, as Garber, are outstanding in their endeavours to make this script, high on corn and lacking in subtlety, something presentable.

Unfortunately, for both of them this film is a remake and it does not fare too well in comparison with its predecessor.

Whilst Tony Scott's (2009) heavy handed production culminates in a shoot-out on New York's streets, Joseph Sargent's thrilling 1974 piece is wound up with a sneeze... subtlety.