Elmore Leonard has been the source of Hollywood films for decades, but not until recently have filmmakers translated his prose into true success. With the triumvirate of Out of Sight, Jackie Brown, and Get Shorty, Leonard’s characters have had a new lease on life. The latter was particularly adept at mixing interesting people in a clever plot with just the right dash of humor and edginess. How to follow up that one? Take the star, John Travolta, from that film and remix with a new, supporting cast behind and in front of the camera. What you get is Be Cool, a spry, ‘wannabe’ sequel that has its moments but doesn’t feel quite as fresh as Get Shorty.
Chili Palmer (Travolta) is still out of the rackets and getting bored with the movie business. When a music producer buddy is murdered by Russian mobsters, Chili decides to take matters in his own hands and teams with widowed producer Edie Athens (Uma Thurman). His first project is Linda Moon, a talented singer wasting away in a retro club. Unfortunately Moon is under contract to sleazy producer Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) whose right hand man Raji (Vince Vaughn) and bodyguard Elliot (The Rock) are trying to kill Chili. Add to this mix an angry rap producer (Cedric the Entertainer) with his gang of thugs and police detectives on surveillance, and you get a story that’s a might convoluted. Pretty soon double crosses abound as everyone begins to point fingers at one another in a way that reminds one of …..Oh yeah, Get Shorty. You just know that Chili will somehow find a way to save the day in an ingenious manner, and that justice will be meted out. How he gets to that point is the half the fun.
John Travolta is getting a tad old for his role (which along with Pulp Fiction rejuvenated his career), but he succeeds in rekindling that suave, ultra confident Chili. Uma Thurman is light years from her Kill Bill success and really has an uninteresting character here. Each supporting actor is given his or her chance to shine, and for the most part they do just that and perhaps go over the top. Cedric the Entertainer is effective as a sophisticated rap producer whose entourage of ‘gangstas’ are out for blood. Harvey Keitel (whose amusing cameo concluded Get Shorty) gets a meaty role as the unscrupulous producer. Robert Pastorelli passed away last year, but his turn as a hitman is a brief reminder of his versatility. Vince Vaughn is a hoot as Raji, who acts like he can walk the walk and talk the talk of a rapper. But it is The Rock (in a mere supporting part no less) who steals the film as the insecure bodyguard who yearns to be an actor performer. Just as Get Shorty boasted an assortment of cameos by movie industry stars, this film reveals the occasional cameo of musical names as well. Furthermore, featured player Danny DeVito (who also produced) has nothing more than what amounts to be a cameo and doesn’t figure in the major plot thread.
Of course you can’t have a Travolta film without a featured dance number which, in this case reunites him with Thurman in a cute but unimaginative number that won’t make you forget the rug-cutting moments in Saturday Night Fever, Urban Cowboy or Pulp Fiction. The soundtrack is thoroughly laced with a mixture of 1970’s pop tunes and current rap. Closing credits have an amusing sequence of the principals strutting their stuff to rap music.
There was always going to be a little breath holding to see if a new director (F. Gary Gray) and new screenwriter (Peter Steinfeld) could duplicate Get Shorty’s success by Barry Sonnenfeld and Scott Frank respectively. In fact, Be Cool was held back from release in summer, 2004, which is often an ominous sign. The film is hit and miss especially in the first half. The musical performances go on much too long including the Aerosmith concert. A little trimming here and there would have been in order. When it finally hits its stride in the last portion, it coasts to a cute ending. At times the dialogue is downright clever and the plot does become intriguing. The film is reasonably successful in its own right but suffers from the high expectations of the previous film. In fact, when the story is over, it is not too far fetched to imagine Chili and gang making a nostalgic return when he is ready to conquer another phase of entertainment business like sports perhaps? Although Be Cool is a harmless bit of fun, it makes you respect the charms of its predecessor even more.
**1/2 of **** stars mostly for The Rock
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