The comedian Bill Cosby once quipped — for anyone over fifty "it is always third and long yardage." In this quirky film directed by Quentin Tarantino, two middle-agers are forced to take stock of their lives. Stewardess Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) has little to show for her long career in the airline industry. She's resorted to smuggling money into the country from Mexico for Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), an arms dealer. After being caught by an ATF agent (Michael Keaton) and a cop (Michael Bowen), she spends a night in jail. Ordell sends Max Cherry (Robert Forster), a bail bondsman, to set her free. This veteran lawman, who has a soft spot in his heart for those overwhelmed by troubles, falls in love with Jackie. She tries to draw him into her scheme to hijack $500,000 of Ordell's money while also duping the ATF agent and his partner.
Adapted for the screen from Elmore Leonard's bestselling 1995 novel, Rum Punch, this film contains several colorful characters including Robert De Niro as an ex-con with a nasty streak and Bridget Fonda as a surfer girl with a bad drug habit. But the real treat in Jackie Brown is watching Pam Grier do an end run around Ordell and the law. Robert Forster's character's way of handling the malaise of middle age is much more heroic — he hunkers down and stays with his mission of helping those in trouble.