Review: Pam Grier is Radiant in "JACKIE BROWN," Tarantino's Best (Maybe) Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 of 2022 (No. 1889) by Leroy Douresseaux

Jackie Brown (1997)

Running time:  154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong language, some violence, drug use and sexuality

DIRECTOR:  Quentin Tarantino

WRITER:  Quentin Tarantino (based upon the novel by Elmore Leonard)

PRODUCER:  Lawrence Bender

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Guillermo Navarro

EDITOR:  Sally Menke

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/CRIME

Starring:  Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Michael Bowen, Chris Tucker, LisaGay Hamilton, Tom Lister, Jr., Hattie Winston, Sid Haig, Aimee Graham, Tangie Ambrose, and T'Keyah Crystal Keymah

Jackie Brown is a 1997 drama and crime film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino.  It is based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel, Rum Punch.  Jackie Brown the movie focuses on a flight attendant who schemes with an aging bail bondsman in a bid to defeat both the ATF and her boss who smuggles guns into Mexico.

Jackie Brown introduces 44-year-old, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), a flight attendant for the low-budget Mexican airline, Cabo Air.  She smuggles money from Mexico into the United States for her (kind of) boss, Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), a gun runner in Los Angeles.  One day, Ordell's courier, Beaumont Livingston (Chris Tucker), is arrested, and he snitches about Ordell's business.

Acting on that information, LAPD Detective Mark Dargus (Michael Bowen) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent, Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton), intercept Jackie while she is returning with some of Ordell's cash, with a small bag of cocaine thrown in.  Dargus and Nicolette use the cocaine to threaten Jackie with serious criminal charges and hard prison time.

Ordell hires bail bondsman, Max Cherry (Robert Forster), of Cherry Bail Bonds, to bail Jackie out of jail.  Feeling trapped between Ordell and the law, Jackie conspires with Max to pretend to give both sides what they want – Ordell the money and the ATF Ordell.  If this heist works, Jackie and Max will secure her future with half a million dollars of Ordell's money.

Jackie Brown is obviously writer-director Quentin Tarantino's ode to 1970s blaxploitation films.  The film is also a star vehicle that Tarantino created for the actress playing the title role in Jackie Brown, the great Pam Grier.  She starred in some of the most fondly remembered and popular blaxploitation films, most notably Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974).  The roles in those two films obviously inspired the role of “Jackie Brown,” although “Flower Child Coffin” a.k.a “Coffy” (of Coffy) and Foxy Brown are action heroes.  Instead, Tarantino makes Jackie Brown a world-weary woman, not an action hero, but a working woman willing to take the action that will help her make her way in the world.

Grier plays Jackie Brown with subtlety and grace, making Jackie comfortable in her skin.  Her sexiness is not forced, but radiates from her, buoyed by her confidence.  Grier makes it seem quite genuine that Brown would one day finally have enough with getting the crappy end of the stick in life.  Jackie takes a chance, and with nothing to lose, she works her magic.  Grier also works her magic, and the audience can believe that she is going to pull off this implausible heist of Ordell's money and also trick the ATF and LAPD by giving them only some of what they want.  Here, Grier gives the best performance of her career, and it is a shame that Hollywood has under-utilized her amazing talent and screen presence.

I have not seen enough of his performances to say that Max Cherry is actor Robert Forster's best performance of his career.  Playing Max revitalized Forster's career, which was mostly stalled at the time.  With charming stoicism, Forster perfectly plays the calm, wise, and a little weary, Max Cherry, one of the most perfect characters that Tarantino ever wrote.  Forster also convinces us that he has so totally fallen for Jackie Brown that he is willing to do everything she wants even if it is everything that he should not do.

I also think that Ordell Robbie is Samuel Jackson's best performance.  Ordell is an example of what would become the stereotypical Samuel L. Jackson character – the menacing, bad-ass Black man who loves to shoot people and curse up a storm.  However, Jackson makes Ordell a man full of angles and twists.  He is coarse with a trashy sophistication; he is menacing, but sentimental in odd ways.  He is not nearly as smart as he thinks he is, so he is ultimately a cheap hood with enough low-rent ambitions to make himself a doomed idiot.

Tarantino uses Grier, Forster, and Jackson's performances and those of several others (Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, and Michael Keaton) to give his usual style, wit, humor, and rapid-fire bravado traction and depth.  Jackie Brown does not have the snappy banter nor the nonlinear antics of Tarantino's previous film, Pulp Fiction.  Jackie Brown's narrative is a straight story, Tarantino's most substantive film to date.  It may be an ode to blaxploitation and also a smooth heist film, but most of all, Jackie Brown is a character drama.  With a superb soundtrack behind it (focusing on “The Delfonics” 1969 classic song, “Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)”), Tarantino uses a slow pace to weave a delightful Los Angeles crime story about the criminal things people do when they are desperate … or in love.

I think that Quentin Tarantino and Pam Grier are a match made in cinematic heaven.  2022 is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jackie Brown's original theatrical release (December 8, 1997).  Jackie Brown has aged well, and for me, it gets better every time I watch it.

10 of 10

A+

Friday, December 30, 2022

NOTES:

1998 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Robert Forster)

1998 Golden Globes, USA:  2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical” (Pam Grier) and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical” (Samuel L. Jackson)

1998 Image Awards (NAACP):  1 nominations:  “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Pam Grier)

The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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EPIX and MGM Announce a "Get Shorty" Television Series

EPIX® Reimagines Elmore Leonard’s Crafty Novel ‘Get Shorty’ for Television

Produced by MGM Television, the Original Series is a Dark Comedy Slated to Start Production Fall 2016

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Premium TV network EPIX® announced today it will go into production on Get Shorty from MGM Television. Created and executive produced by Davey Holmes (“Shameless,” “In Treatment,” “Damages”), the one hour drama series is a reimagining of Elmore Leonard’s 1990 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name. Production on the series is anticipated to begin this fall and air summer 2017.

    “Davey has created a modern-day re-envisioning of Elmore Leonard’s timeless cult classic where organized crime and Hollywood collide in very funny ways. We are thrilled to bring these irreverent characters to fans and audiences around the globe with our fantastic partners at EPIX”

In Get Shorty, Miles Daly works as muscle for a murderous crime ring in Nevada. For the sake of his daughter, he attempts to change professions and become a movie producer, laundering money through a Hollywood film. But instead of leaving the criminal world behind, he accidentally brings it with him to Los Angeles.

“We’re excited to be working with MGM on Get Shorty,” said Mark S. Greenberg, President and CEO, EPIX. “I had the pleasure of working with Elmore Leonard early in my career and I am a big fan of his writing. Davey Holmes is a tremendous talent and has created a fantastic new series that is in the spirit of Leonard’s unique brand of social satire and strong narrative voice. Get Shorty promises to be yet another example of the type of high-end, premium TV that EPIX is committed to delivering to its subscribers.”

“Davey has created a modern-day re-envisioning of Elmore Leonard’s timeless cult classic where organized crime and Hollywood collide in very funny ways. We are thrilled to bring these irreverent characters to fans and audiences around the globe with our fantastic partners at EPIX,” said Mark Burnett, President, Television and Digital Group, MGM and Steve Stark, President, Television Development and Production, MGM.

MGM, a joint venture partner in EPIX, produced the 1995 movie version of Get Shorty that starred John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito and was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Travolta won the Golden Globe® Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of the lead character Chili Palmer and the film received a Golden Globe Award® nomination for Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.


About EPIX
EPIX is a premium entertainment network delivering the latest movie releases and biggest classic film franchises, plus original programming including series, documentaries, comedy and music specials – all available on TV, on demand, online and across devices. Launched in October 2009, EPIX has pioneered the development and proliferation of “TV Everywhere.” It was the first premium network to provide multi-platform access to its content online at EPIX.com and to launch on Xbox, PlayStation®, Android phones and tablets, and Roku® players. EPIX is also available across Chromecast, Apple® iPhones® and iPads®, Android TV and more and is the only premium service providing all its programming on all platforms, delivering more movies than any other premium network, with thousands of titles available for streaming.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc., its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide. For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHD (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+EPIX), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/EPIX) and Vine (https://vine.co/EPIX).

About MGM Television
MGM Television is a leading producer and global distributor of premium content for television and digital platforms, with distribution rights to original productions and a robust catalog of television episodes and feature film titles including such premiere entertainment franchises as James Bond, Rocky, Stargate and “The Hobbit” trilogy. Current scripted and unscripted multi-platform projects include “Fargo” (FX); “Vikings” (HISTORY); "The Voice" (NBC); "Survivor" (CBS); “Shark Tank” (ABC); “Beyond the Tank" (ABC);"Celebrity Apprentice"(NBC); “Teen Wolf” (MTV); “500 Questions” (ABC); "The People's Choice Awards” (CBS); “America’s Greatest Makers” (INTEL/Turner), “Coupled” (FOX) and “Lucha Underground” (The El Rey Network). Through its finance and distribution entity, Orion TV Productions, the syndicated courtroom series “Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court” is currently airing its third season. MGM’s television programming regularly airs in more than 70 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

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“Get Shorty” Author, Elmore Leonard, Dies at 87

by Leroy Douresseaux

American crime writer Elmore Leonard died Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at the age of 87.  Known as “the Dickens of Detroit,” Leonard was the bestselling author of 45 novels and numerous short stories.  Leonard’s pared-down writing style featured snappy dialogue and black humor.  Many of his novels were turned into films.

The 1990 novel, Get Shorty, was turned into the 1995 film starring John Travolta, and the 1992 novel, Rum Punch, became Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 film, Jackie Brown.  Leonards’s short story, “Three-Ten to Yuma,” became the classic Western film, 3:10 to Yuma, in 1957, which was remade in 2007.  Leonard’s fiction was also the basis for a few television series, including the FX cable series, “Justified,” which is based on two novels, Pronto (1993) and Riding the Rap (1995), and a short story.

I read only two of Leonard’s novels, Get Shorty and Rum Punch, but I have enjoyed many of the films and television series adapted from his fiction.  Negromancer offers Mr. Leonard’s family our condolences.  R.I.P., Mr. Leonard.

Review: "3:10 to Yuma" an American Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Running time:  92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Delmer Daves
WRITERS:  Halsted Welles (based upon the short story by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCER:  David Heilweil
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Charles Lawton, Jr. (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Al Clark
COMPOSER:  George Duning
BAFTA Award nominee

WESTERN/THRILLER

Starring:  Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana, Henry Jones, Richard Jaeckel, and Robert Emhardt

The subject of this movie review is 3:10 to Yuma, a 1957 Western film and thriller from director Delmer Daves.  The film is based on the short story, “Three-Ten to Yuma,” written by Elmore Leonard and first published in the March 1953 issue of Dime Western Magazine.  3:10 to Yuma stars Glenn Ford and Van Helfin in a story of a rancher who escorts a notorious outlaw to the train that will take him to prison.

A crippling drought has hit Dan Evans (Van Heflin), a poor rancher, hard.  Fate steps in when Evans and his two young sons run into outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) and his gang robbing a stage coach of a fortune in gold.  When Wade is later caught, the town marshal of Brisbee offers a bounty to any men willing to escort Wade to the small dusty town of Contention.  There, they’ll board a train and take Wade to the prison town of Yuma.

Desperately in need of money for his cattle, Evans accepts the $200 bounty, in spite of his wife, Alice’s (Leora Dana) protests.  Evans joins the town drunk, Alex Potter (Henry Jones), and, Mr. Butterfield (Robert Emhardt), the owner of the gold, in escorting Wade.  Soon, the trio is held up in a small hotel in Contention with Wade.  They’re waiting for the 3:10 to Yuma while Wade’s gang closes in on the town, fiercely determined to free their leader.

Sometimes a film is so full of stereotypes in terms of characters, setting, and plot that the film is indeed a stereotype.  There are, however, rare occasions when such a film hits all the notes with perfect pitch, and what could have been nothing more than typical (entertaining, but typical) becomes an exceptional movie.  That’s what 3:10 to Yuma is – an outstanding horse opera.  Not only is it a great western, 3:10 to Yuma is also a thriller and a crime drama.

While managing to be a western, this is also a broader story about a man doing something because he should, not that he necessarily wants to put his neck on the line.  This could also easily be a tale set in the city, especially the way director of photography Charles Lawton, Jr. and director Delmer Davis stage 3:10 to Yuma in an interplay of liquid shadows and brilliant light as if this movie were Film-Noir.

As for the elements that are familiar to western movies:  there’s a really, good and humble man, and a cool, overly confident villain (who is also apparently an accomplished lover).  The citizens of two little towns want the bad guy to get his just punishment for his crimes, but most of the men are too afraid to stand up with the hero, whose only stouthearted partners are the portly owner of the stolen gold and the town drunk.  There’s even a lonesome setting – the barren Southwestern dry lands.  The hero also has a worried wife, and two sons who really want their dad to take on the bad guy, and the bad guy’s partners are a gang of nasty bad guys.

Still, all these familiar elements come together in harmony under the gaze of Charles Lawton, Jr.’s perfectly focused cinematography.  The cast work their engaging little drama, with its aspirations of being an epic, all while the strains of George Duning’s thrilling score dances overhead.  How director Delmer Daves transformed the ordinary flick into a memorable western, I’m not sure, but perhaps it is that he captured every moment at the right moment.  Maybe, it’s Glenn Ford’s superb performance as Ben Wade – especially during those intimate moments with Felicia Farr’s Emmy.  Perhaps, it is how Van Heflin and Leora Davis are so convincing as a couple with a long history and an even deeper love.  Or it could be every single thing in 3:10 to Yuma.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

NOTES:
1958 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Film from any Source” (USA)

2012 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  National Film Registry

Updated:  Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Review: "3:10 to Yuma" Remake a Superb Modern Western

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Running time:  122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and some language
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITERS:  Halsted Welles and Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (based on the short story by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCERS:  Cathy Konrad
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Phedon Papamichael (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michael McCusker
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami
Academy Award nominee

WESTERN/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Luce Rains, Gretchen Mol, and Ben Petry

Director James Mangold’s rousing, edgy Western, 3:10 to Yuma, is a remake of a 1957 film of the same name that starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin.  Mangold (Walk the Line) isn’t robbing the grave of Hollywood classics; instead, he has fashioned the Western as a modern, suspense-thriller that is as close to an old-fashioned horse opera as a modern film can be.  Both the first film and Mangold’s remake are based on the short story, “Three-Ten to Yuma,” written by Elmore Leonard and first published in the March 1953 issue of Dime Western Magazine.

Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) struggles to support his ranch and family during a long drought.  Desperate for money, Evans agrees to transport the captured outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), from nearby Bisbee to Contention, the closest town with a rail station.  There, they’ll wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, where Wade will be imprisoned while awaiting trial for his numerous crimes, mostly murder and robbery.  Holed up in a Contention hotel, Wade attempts psychological havoc on Evans, offering Evans much more money in exchange for his freedom than he would get for holding Wade captive.  Meanwhile, Wade’s henchmen, led by the vicious Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), storm into town offering money to any man who will shoot Wade’s captors.  Complicating matters, Dan’s son, William (Logan Lerman), has stubbornly joined his father on this deadly mission.

Mangold’s sturdy remake isn’t an exercise in pointless violence, although the film is indeed violent, and while it is more graphically violent than Westerns from the 30’s to the 60’s, this modern version of 3:10 to Yuma heals the wounded heart of the Western genre which has, with a few exceptions, been in steep decline on the big screen.  This is a grand character study, and acting its chief strength, relying on the considerable talents of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

The good guy/bad guy relationship between Crowe’s Ben Wade and Bale’s Dan Evans has to be played just right in order to work, or the relationship will seem like a tired old storytelling cliché.  The characters that Bale usually play seem like the everyman as quiet man.  Evans isn’t a hero or even a brave man, as we usually think of bravery, and his son William reminds him every chance he gets, by words, with a stare, or in his sullen expression.  Evans, however, is determined this one time – in dealing with Ben Wade – to be heroic.

On the other hand, Russell Crowe’s Ben Wade is the devil – pure and simple.  Supernaturally wily, he seems faster, stronger, smarter, and more vicious than any other human he encounters.  He has given in to his pure instincts and wants – like an animal, but much more dangerous because he is ultimately a human without the checks and balances of ethics and morals.

The viewer wouldn’t be overdoing it by seeing Evans as the Christ-like sacrifice and Wade his devilish tempter.  The good/bad dynamic, however, is a staple of the Western, and 3:10 to Yuma is rife with the genre standards.  That is how this extremely well-acted and superbly-directed film honors the American Western, and 3:10 to Yuma honors this venerable genre with gusto.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards:  2 nominations:  “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score (Marco Beltrami) and “Best Achievement in Sound” (Paul Massey, David Gaimmarco, and Jim Stuebe)

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Review: "Get Shorty" Still Stands Tall (Happy B'day, John Travolta)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 48 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Get Shorty (1995)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some violence
DIRECTOR: Barry Sonnenfeld
WRITER: Scott Frank (based upon the novel by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCERS: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald Peterman
EDITOR: Jim Miller
Golden Globe winner

CRIME/COMEDY with elements of drama

Starring: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini, Jon Gries, David Paymer, Renee Props, Martin Ferrero, Miguel Sandoval, and Jacob Vargas with (uncredited) Bette Midler, Harvey Keitel, and Penny Marshall

Get Shorty is a 1995 crime comedy starring John Travolta. The film is based upon the 1990 novel, Get Shorty, by Elmore Leonard.

Ten years later, Get Shorty, is still as slick and as cool as it was the day it debuted. Although it’s 2005 sequel, Be Cool, is filled with hilarious characters and situations, Get Shorty emphasized polished filmmaking, laid back acting, and subtle comedy to make it more of a humorous comedy than the riotous laugh fest its sequel is. Get Shorty fits right in with several other adult crime films from the mid to late 90’s because it doesn’t pretend to be for everyone, so it didn’t pander to juveniles and those with juvenile mindsets. With an emphasis on sharp writing, adult situations, engaging characters, snappy dialogue, and non-gratuitous violence, these films, which included The Negotiator, Jackie Brown, and Out of Sight, were a welcomed treat for adult viewers.

In Las Vegas to collect a debt for his boss, Ray “Bones” Barboni, Chili Palmer (John Travolta), a cool Miami loan shark/shylock, agrees to collect another bad debt, this one from trash movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) in Los Angeles. Zimm gets lucky because Chili is a movie buff and pitches a movie idea to Zimm. They become partners and Chili easily slips into the life of a film producer. He schmoozes stars, gets reservations to all the best restaurants, and romances B-movie scream queen, Karen Flores (Rene Russo). Chili however isn’t the only mobster who wants in on the movie business. Harry Zimm owes another shady lender, Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), money, and Catlett wants to force his way in on a deal for a hot script Zimm has. Add Catlett to a mix of angry drug dealers, relentless DEA agents, vain movie star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), double and triple crossing, and Ray Bones showing up in town looking for him, and Chili will need to use all his wiles to get his way.

In Get Shorty, the cast members use their star power and screen personas to add zest to these characters that were born in the mind of Elmore Leonard, a novelist who creates memorable characters for his numerous novels. Director Barry Sonnenfeld gives the film an easy mood, and allows his cast to give performances that crackle. John Travolta embodies that don’t-give-a-shit attitude of confident thug. Gene Hackman is funny, sly, and adds subtle touches that make Harry Zimm zing.

In the final analysis, the film does come across as too glossy. It rushes to a tacked-on happy ending, and the characters beg to be better known or more developed. It’s because the cast make these stock characters as flavorful as they are in Leonard’s novels (although in smaller servings) that Get Shorty is still such fun to watch.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1996 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” (John Travolta); 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Scott Frank)

April 3, 2005

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"Be Cool" Never Heats Up

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Be Cool (2005)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references
DIRECTOR: F. Gary Gray
WRITER: Peter Steinfeld (from the novel by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCERS: Danny DeVito, David Nicksay, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeffrey L. Kimball
EDITOR: Sheldon Kahn

CRIME/COMEDY

Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, André (3000) Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Paul Adelstein, Danny DeVito, Robert Pastorelli, James Woods, and Debi Mazar with Joe Perry and Aerosmith, The Black Eye Peas with Sergio Mendes, The RZA, Kobe Bryant, and Seth Green

Be Cool is a 2005 crime comedy and is also a sequel to the 1995 film, Get Shorty. It is adapted from the 1999 novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard.

Ten years after Get Shorty, the sequel, Be Cool, shows up at theatres. Both films are based upon novels by Elmore Leonard, whose books have long been a source of film materials for Hollywood. Be Cool is not as witty and as sharp as Get Shorty, but it certainly tries to be the same blunt comic crime caper that the latter was. It has the characters, the cast, and some truly sidesplitting comedy, but ultimately, a faulty script and clunky directing mar a film that was so close to being a really fine crime comedy.

Chili Palmer (John Travolta), the Miami-based shylock who came to Hollywood and charmed and bullied his way into filmmaking, is now tired of the movie business. He’s interested in music, and when Tommy Athens (James Woods), a friend who owns a record label, is murdered by Russian mobsters before Chili’s eyes, that homicide opens the door for him. Chili meets Linda Moon (Christina Milian), a struggling singer stuck with a wannabe Negro named Raji (Vince Vaughn) for a manager. Chili, in his usual way, relieves Raji of Linda’s contract with him, and becomes her new manager.

Chili makes his next connection with Tommy’s widow, Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), who after some convincing is ready to take on Chili and Linda. However, there is the issue of Linda contract with Raji, and Raji’s partner, Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) who isn’t crazy about letting go off a potential star. Edie also has another big problem: Tommy owed $300,000 to Sin LaSalle (Cedric Entertainer), a very successful, but violently inclined record producer. Raji, Nick, and Sin all see Chili as their problem; as they angle towards him, he’ll try to make Linda a star, woo Edie, and get his way, always dealing with violence and pressure by his motto, be cool.

There are probably a lot more belly laughs in Be Cool than Get Shorty, and that makes it worth seeing. The cast is littered with star turns and novel and hilarious supporting performances, especially Vaughn as Raji and The Rock as his gay, wannabe actor bodyguard, Elliot Wilhelm. Christina Milian holds her own; she works in this movie because her confidence makes her come across as a fine singer and actress, even if there might be stronger singing voices and better young actresses than her.

Travolta reportedly suggested Uma Thurman as his leading lady for Be Cool because they could recapture their screen chemistry from Pulp Fiction, which restarted Travolta’s career and boosted Ms. Thurman’s, but they don’t. Yes, a rapport and friendliness exist between them, but they are sluggish here. Travolta is Chili Palmer, but he’s on automatic here, older and heavier. Even Thurman looks strained, only managing about half the time to have the perkiness, determination, and raw magnetism that show themselves in her collaborations with Quentin Tarantino.

The lion’s share of the blame from this go to writer Paul Steinfeld and director F. Gary Gray. They never seem to be able to integrate the music business element into this plot (after all it’s about Chili getting in the music business), and the film’s musical numbers (except the Aerosmith/Christina Milian performance) and music videos ring hollow. This is a gangster film with laughs, lots of them, but these hilarious and likeable characters don’t seem to be in music because the music industry isn’t in this film the way the movie business was clearly and strongly a part of Get Shorty. Still, Travolta, Ms. Thurman, and a supporting cast of wacky players make this a crime comedy worth seeing, even if you can’t make it to the theatre.

5 of 10
B-