Stop Hatin', Start Participatin'
BE COOL (**1/2)
by Shawn Snead / March 20th, 2005
It's been ten years since Chili Palmer (John Travolta) took over the movie industry in the classic hit Get Shorty. He's back, but this time he's ready to conquer the music business. When a friend is offed at lunch, Chili meets up with his friend's wife Edie (the beautiful Uma Thurman), a music producer. They find gold in a talented young singer (Christina Milian), but signing her is a bit more difficult than it seems. They must first get her recording contract from a shady record producer (Harvey Keitel), outwit her pimped-out whiteboy manager Raji (the always hilarious Vince Vaughn), and his gay aspiring-actor bodyguard (The Rock, who shines in the film).
Throw in a group of gangster rappers, led by a suburban Suge Knight producer (Cedric The Entertainer), and Dabu (Outkast's André Benjamin in a hilarious breakout role) and some Russian mobsters, and you've got yourself a pretty funny film.
Chili has been one of Travolta's best roles, in fact Elmore Leonard (author of Get Shorty) was so impressed by the star's performance in the first film, that he wrote a sequel, the basis for Be Cool. Travolta reunites with fellow Tarantino alum Thurman, and Keitel. Throw in Sam Jackson, and you've got yourself a Pulp Fiction sequel. That is the basis for the film's best scene, a dance sequence between Travolta and Thurman. An obvious, intentional reference to one of the most recognizable scenes in movie history, from my favorite film. The movie is worth checking out, just for that.
Outside of those three, Vince Vaughn and The Rock shine as an odd couple of associates. Vince is in classic form, as great as ever. The Rock takes a hilarious turn from roles that he usually gets. From professional wrestler to big-time action star, to gay bodyguard, the Rock (real name Dwayne Johnson) will be making movies for a long time to come.
F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Friday) directs the film, replacing Get Shorty director Barry Sonnenfeld. He does a pretty good job, and guides a film that lives up to it's original. However, the film's first half has a hard time trying to get going, and about 15 minutes of the film is pure live performance. The storytelling isn't as consistent as Get Shorty, so the pacing is definitely off, and unbalanced. The film is just shy of 2 hours, yet feels well over. It could have spent some more time in the editing room.
Reviews have been mixed, to bad for the film. But, don't let that keep you from checking out the funniest film so far this year.
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MGM Studios
Running Time: I Hour, 54 Minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references.
Release Date: Friday, Marth 4th, 2005
Viewed: Monday, March 7th, 2005
Starring John Travolta (Chili Palmer), Uma Thurman (Edie Athens), Vince Vaughn (Raji), The Rock (Elliot Wilhelm), Harvey Keitel (Nick Carr), Cedric The Entertainer (Sin LaSalle), Christina Milian (Linda Moon), André Benjamin (Dabu), Robert Pastorelli (Joe Loop)
Produced By Danny DeVito, Elmore Leonard, David Nicksay
Written By Peter Steinfeld (Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard)
Directed By F. Gary Gray
posted by Shawn Snead @ 3/20/2005 03:39:00 PM
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