Samuel L. Jackson Is a Pure Cinnamon Roll in ‘Unicorn Store’ and It’s All I’ve Ever Wanted

We’ve seen Samuel L. Jackson interrogate, intimidate and fire many, many guns. We’ve heard him say “motherfucker” more times than we can count. We’ve witnessed him launch a superhero initiative, and then disappear into dust. But a pink-suit-wearing, warm-hearted, ice-cream-loving, tinsel-haired unicorn salesman? Now that’s a side of Jackson we haven’t seen before.

Enter Unicorn Store, a comedy that premiered two years ago at the Toronto Film Festival but never found a distributor—until it launched on Netflix on Friday. Unicorn Store is directed by Brie Larson, who also stars as Kit, a struggling, unicorn-loving artist. The Unicorn Store plot finds Jackson plays the mysterious The Salesman, who just so happens to sell unicorns, and wants to do business with Kit. And yes, this is something of a Captain Marvel reunion—well technically, Captain Marvel is a Unicorn Store reunion—but you’ll find that the films are uh, pretty different.

If you got a kick out of Nick Fury cooing over a cat in Captain Marvel, that’s nothing compared to Jackson as The Salesman (that’s his only name) in Unicorn Store. The Salesman wears a bright pink suit, pink hipster glasses, and has sparkly ribbons in his ‘fro. The Salesman does not shoot people. The Salesman does not threaten people. The Salesman does swear, but only to say things like, “Don’t you want to hug the shit out of your very own precious pink unicorn? Braid its hair? Sing it songs? Bake it cookies?”

In short, this is Samuel L. Jackson as a pure cinnamon roll. The purest of cinnamon rolls, really. Too pure for this world. He loves ice cream and carries a unicorn hair in his pocket. He very seriously tells Brie Larson that she needs to build a stable for her unicorn, so that it can have a worthy home. And honestly, it’s delightful. I love it. No offense to Pulp Fiction fans, but I kind of hope Jackson never goes back to his gun-wielding days and just wears brightly colored suits and talks about “loving vibes” for the rest of his career.

If all of this sounds a little bit bizarre, it definitely is. Unicorn Store, which is also Larson’s directorial debut, is an incredibly weird movie, but like, in a charming way. It’s written by Samantha McIntyre, who also works on FX’s Married, and the Unicorn Store cast includes Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack as Kit’s parents, Mamoudou Athie as Kit’s love interest, and Karan Soni (who you might recognize from another Marvel film, Deadpool) as a family friend. It’s pretty much your quintessential quirky, high-concept, low-budget indie comedy (think Safety Not Guaranteed, Swiss Army Man, Colassal). Reviews out of TIFF were mixed, and admittedly, the third act doesn’t quite stick the landing.

But how can you say no to Samuel L. Jackson in a bright pink suit? And then later, Samuel L. Jackson in a bright blue suit, with little red roses on it?

Now here’s the best part: This entire character was designed by the prolific actor himself. In an interview at TIFF, Larson told Variety, “He designed this character, everything down to the tinsel in his hair.” The real cinnamon roll was Jackson all along!

Of course, we’re also not sure if The Salesman is scamming Kit with this whole “I want to sell you a unicorn” spiel.  Or maybe he’s just not quite right in the head. After all, unicorns aren’t real… right?

I won’t spoil the film, but let’s just say things only get weirder as the film progresses. But you can’t help but trust this bubbly, sparkly version of Samuel L. Jackson who insists the universe is a little more magical than we’ve all come to believe. Hats off to Larson for that inspired casting—the pair also worked together on the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island—and for her own stellar performance, which surprised several laughs out of me, thanks to her abrupt, deadpan delivery.

Unicorn Store may be odd, but it’s also fun, silly, heartfelt and a bunch of other warm-and-fuzzy adjectives. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel filled with joy. Just sit back, relax, and let a pink-suited Samuel L. Jackson convince you unicorns are real.

Stream Unicorn Store on Netflix