Review of Get Shorty (1995) by Chris M — 03 Nov 2008

Get Shorty is a pretty pleasing film as long as you stay clear of its poisonous sequel Be Cool. That being said, in the first film, John Travolta's character Chili Palmer, a loan shark for the mob who's a huge movie buff at heart (How can I resist that?), is a classic character with all the right moves.

Palmer is sent to Hollywood to do what he does best and gets wrapped up in the showbiz while he tends to his business. He meets a lovely leading lady (Rene Russo) he already admires and tries to get his own film made with the help of a monster movie director (Gene Hackman, who I think got some character inspiration from Wes Craven), all the while avoiding goons played by Delroy Lindo and Dennis Farina.

James Gandolfini nearly steals the show as a strong stuntman/hired-hand who turns out to most of all be a strong father, but Travolta is having too much fun to have a movie swept from underneath him this time.

Forget Be Cool ever happened; Chili Palmer and his world were best when he loved movies (Ahh, that sentence felt good to type).