Be Cool

Based on Elmore Leonard's novel, 'Be Cool' is an all around entertainer. Sequel to 'Get Shorty', Travolta is back as Chili Palmer and Danny Devito makes two cameo appearances. The rest of the fabulous cast includes the sensational Uma Thurman, a hilarious Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Robert Pastorelli and Christina Milian. Harvey Keitel proves to be very good in comedy but the real surprise is Dwayne Johnson who shows a knack for being funny and probably has the funniest role.

F. Gary Gray does a neat job. The jokes work excellently. The film is well-paced and the writing is consistent. Steinfeld does a good job of rewriting Leonard's book for the big screen. The humour works excellently. None of the jokes fall flat and the cast and crew seem to have had a blast making this film.

It's a shame that the film wasn't as big a success as it's prequel. Frankly, I enjoyed it more than 'Get Shorty'. Above all, 'Be Cool' is a splendid entertainer that will draw loads of laughs.

We are born into the doom of being actors. If we are lucky we discover who we are but until then we go through a process of acting a role.

Some movies play with this idea, and "Get Shorty" was one of the most clever of these.

It had two elements: that notion of acting cool and the explicit self-reference of putting it in movies, complete with the command to "look at me."

Behind it was one of the coolest thinkers in cinema, Danny Devito who is a kind of patron saint of self-reference. He who made a film based on "Pale Fire" and whose "Death to Smoochy" is a pinnacle of sorts of introspective writing.

Now comes this, which starts out okay, along the same lines of heavy self-reference until we learn that Devito is to star in a biopic of Johnny Cash.

Then the grind of the inferior mind behind it begins.

Seems they had some idea that Uma Thurman fit into an intelligent enterprise somewhere.

Nope, none of the few things she can do fit into self-reference or folding in any way.

Seems they decided that a mere reference to performance wasn't enough, we had to have the whole pretty-girl-overcomes-adversity thing complete with several performances.

Nope, again.

And they figured that all the cool identity stuff would be carried by a white guy acting black and a black guy acting white.

Nope, nope , nope.

Go watch any Devito-inspired project rather than this.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

In the sequel to 1995's 'Get Shorty,' John Travolta is all swagger and one-liners, reprising his role as shylock/movie producer Chili Palmer. This time around, Chili abandons the fickle film industry for the ever-so-stable world of music, in an effort to discover the next big pop sensation and thus save the beautiful Edie's (Uma Thurman) ailing indie record label. When Chili takes a promising young singer (Christina Milian) under his wing, however, he finds himself in hot water with a wannabe gangsta/mogul (Vince Vaughn), a gay bodyguard (The Rock), and a slew of Russian mobsters. With a bounty on his head and time running out, Chili realizes there's only one way to come out on top: 'Be Cool.'

This was a comedy. And with comedy you allow for the nonsense. The nonsense makes us laugh. However, the comedy in this movie was clichéd. There was a white guy acting black, a gay aspiring actor, shady record producers and homicidal rappers. Of course John Travolta danced with Uma Thurman. Count the movies John Travolta doesn't dance in. And to boot, Cedric the Entertainer was not funny. It hurts me. The first introduction audiences had to Chili Palmer was unique. But in the sequel, we already knew Chili's cool as ice, no nonsense approach to project management. The only thing we had to look forward to was the immense supporting cast, most of whom were incredibly disappointing. I'm not going to say it was totally unfunny. I laughed. But also, I cried. I cried. It's strictly a numbers game. Put 75 people in the cast and someone is bound to make you laugh. As for the completely insulting product placements, note to Hollywood producers, AUDIENCE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW.

I feel bad now. Then again I don't. I've often said that sequels are never as good as the first. The Godfather II's are the exception, not the rule.

The sequel to Get Shory has Chili Palmer taking on the music business. Its not as good as the first film, but if taken on its own is a good time passer.

The problem here is two fold. First the film has a running gag about hating sequels, which would be fine if it was just a joke and didn't extend to the film making. Few of the actors in this film seem to be doing more than walking through the film for the cash or as a joke and it shows. The second problem is that there is way way too much going on and way too many people doing it. It seems to me that every time that someone of note shows up the movie has to stop to give them their couple of minutes on screen. Usually the material is decent, but it slows the pace down. I kept wanting to speed things up.

That said I did like the film, but regret having paid movie theater prices to do so. This is a rental, not something you pay ten bucks to see. If you get the chance to rent it or see it on cable give it a shot. Just don't expect an equal to Get Shorty.

This is no "Get Shorty" but it's full of so much self-deprecating humor that you can't help but cut it a break. I laughed quite a few times, and there's a lot of fun moments. However, the film is a bit uneven. It's a comedy, but then, how funny is the Russian Mafia? The movie tries hard to find the humor in hit men and quirky characters, but it often seems to be trying a bit too hard. The movie is so crammed with celebrities that it's distracting and the parade of glitterati takes you outside the film more than once. It's less brutal than "Get Shorty" and the language is much milder, but it also lacks the freshness and irreverence that made "Get Shorty" so much fun. As sequels go, it's a pretty good movie, and John Travolta and others in the film are so obviously having a good time, it's impossible not to get into the groove. There are many charming performances, including The Rock and Andre 3000, both showing a real knack for comedy. Definitely worth a visit to the multiplex, as long as you keep your expectations in check.