Be Cool (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers (WGA):

Elmore Leonard (novel)
Peter Steinfeld (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 March 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Everyone is looking for the next big hit

Plot:

Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer (John Travolta) tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music exec (Uma Thurman) on the way.

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Widow | Music Business | Rapper | Bodyguard

Awards:

1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

John Travolta	...	Chili Palmer
Uma Thurman	...	Edie Athens
Vince Vaughn	...	Raji
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Sin LaSalle
André Benjamin	...	Dabu
Steven Tyler	...	Himself
Robert Pastorelli	...	Joe Loop
Christina Milian	...	Linda Moon
Paul Adelstein	...	Hy Gordon
Debi Mazar	...	Marla
Gregory Alan Williams	...	Darryl (as GregAlan Williams)
Harvey Keitel	...	Nick Carr
Dwayne Johnson	...	Elliot Wilhelm (as The Rock)
Danny DeVito	...	Martin Weir
James Woods	...	Tommy Athens

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18PL | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40804) | Iceland:14

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Footage for a concert scene featuring Aerosmith and Christina Milian was filmed at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts on 24 June 2004.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sin's gang hangs Raji off the balcony, his hat is gray. As the hat falls and the camera follows it down, it's brown. Then, when it lands on the cement and the Russians pick it up, it's gray again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chili Palmer: I hate sequels.

Movie Connections:

References Scarface (1983)

Soundtrack:

Me So Horny

Get Shorty deserves better

Get Shorty was an excellent film. It was funny and had the perfect balance of highly comical acting and a serious plot. Be Cool is like some cheap knock-off trying to pass for a sequel. John Travolta as Chili Palmer seems to have forgotten that he was ever in the mob. He plays it like he's a bored movie exec, rather than a bored movie exec who used to be a Shylock. Uma Thurman, great in nearly every role she's ever played, comes off as strained and confusing. Is she supposed to be ditzy or clever? The chemistry between her and Travolta is strained and uncomfortable. Other than that, just add every movie cliché you can think of. A well-educated rap producer by Cedric the Entertainer, an inept gangster wannabe in Andre 3000, the girl with heart, soul, and a good set of pipes in Christina Milian, a gimmicky black dude wannabe in Vince Vaughn, and a stupid celebrity cameo by Stephen Tyler. The only funny part was the Rock, who invents his own new cliché as a gay Samoan bodyguard actor wannabe. Probably the biggest crime is the plot: IT MAKES NO SENSE. Get Shorty was clever with Chili playing one group against another and coming out on top. But this film tries that with about a million different characters. And even Chili doesn't seem to know what's going on. Fans of Get Shorty be warned: this is a very different, very worse movie.