Get Shorty (Stars et truands)

This film is based on the Elmore Leonard book of the same name. This is a hilarious satire of Hollywood. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a loan shark from Miami tracking down a deadbeat who has run off. Palmer's travels take him to Hollywood, where he meets Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman). Zimm is a producer of major motion pictures (read B horror flicks). His lover is Karen (Rene Russo). His meetings give Palmer the "movie bug."

Already a huge movie fan, Palmer decides to produce "Mr. Lovejoy" a script that Zimm proclaims will be hs "Driving Miss Daisy." The plot centers around efforts to raise the necessary money and land Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) in the lead role. Fortunately Weir is Karen's es-husband. And Palmer has access to $300,000 generated from Las Vegas winnings of the missing deadbeat, Leo. As a further complication there is a drug dealer (Delroy Lindo) who has invested in one of Zimm's pictures. But he has gotten in trouble with his supplier for $500,000 and a missing nephew.

DeVito does a wonderful job playing the self-involved, pretentious Weir. There are wonderful comments about screen writers. Spelling is optional, not necessary. The role of a screenwriter is just to put the commas in where they belong. Travolta is delightful as a "nice guy" wiseguy. In fact, the entire cast is just great.

The plot lines never overwhelm the film, and they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. (Note: Thanks to Pulp Fiction, studios are willing now to use non-linear plot lines on occasion.). The ending is terrific (watch for the cameo by Harvey Keitel). I saw this in the theatre and have seen it several times on video. This one is definitely a keeper.

John Travolta followed up his "Pulp Fiction" comeback with "Get Shorty", in which he plays Miami hit-man Chili Palmer. Moving to Hollywood to collect a debt, he finds that show biz isn't much different from the mafia, and he decides to get involved. But of course, once there's anything mafia-related involved, things start to get ugly. Not that they weren't already seedy.

This movie has its strengths mainly in the script, but also in the strong performances from Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo and Danny DeVito. I guess that any time that someone gets a chance to show Hollywood's unseemly side, they take it. Of course, there's plenty of reasons to do so. The sequel, "Be Cool", wasn't quite as good, but still worth seeing.

Get Shorty is a hilariously funny, brilliantly written and colorfully acted satire of how hard it is to get a Hollywood movie made. All the moving pieces and different parties, each with their own motivations and goals, make it a natural fit for a film-loving gangster. Leonard is the man, as the movie totally depends on his script, and every part of it is awesome (dialogue, characters, story webbing).

Barry Sonnenfeld was and maybe wasn't the right choice to make Get Shorty. He's a great visualist, and his films (Adams Family, Men in Black) are also very funny, but it's hard to say whether or not another director might've taken Elmore Leonard's sly comic novel more seriously or with less depth. As it is, however, Get Shorty is a cool little treat that doesn't over-stay its welcome, and provides its cast a plethora of witty dialog. John Travolta brings on some sharp attitude, knowing the angles and wanting, as his character Chili Palmer, to get into Hollywood and out of loan sharking. Gene Hackman's funny as a fledgling producer with his first, true big hit in his lap. And supporting parts from Delroy Lindo, Renne Russo, Danny De Vito (as 'Hollywood' as you'll ever see him), and James Gandolfini, are all very worthy. It's a worthwhile watch, with a dead-on score from John Lurie. But I would reccomend Out of Sight or Jackie Brown to Leonard fans looking for a great adaptation. It's a very good Hollywood picture (reflective of what it's about), though it's not a masterpiece. A-

Elmore Leonard's books must be loved by film screen adapters. His characters translate very well from the written page to the moving picture. "Get Shorty" is one of Mr. Leonard's best stories and it gets a very good treatment in the hands of Barry Sonnenfeld, its director, with the help of Scott Frank, who adapted it for the screen.

The casting of the movie was it's greatest asset. John Travolta is so cool as Chilli, the mafioso who loves movies! In his scenes with Gene Hackman, he demonstrates what a good actor he is. On the surface, he appears to do nothing; he works with an economy that is very hard to imitate. Granted, after Mr. Travolta's amazing appearance in Pulp Fiction, this was a confirmation and validation of his talent.

It was surprising, since I didn't remember his appearance on the movie, to watch actor James Gandolfini, prior to his recent fame. He plays a stuntman turned wise guy. Mr. Gandolfini must have gone through a great dental cosmetic transformation, unless he was made up to look very ugly, as Bear, in the film. I have greatly admired his work before his TV series, as a fine character actor, which he demonstrates here the potential he had and was not discovered until much later.

Delroy Lindo is also excellent as one of the bad guys in the film. This actor, who is as great in films as in the theater, deserves much better. He is a man that always gives an honest performance. Not being a Danny DeVito fan, I must confess that he was very restrained here. He can do very good work with the right director behind him, as he shows playing the egotistical actor, Martin Weir.

Also excellent, Dennis Farina. It's unfortunate he doesn't get better choices because he is always very effective in whatever he plays. In this film, he is hysterical as Ray "Bones" Barboni. Rene Russo, as the bit player with a heart of gold, is good.

What can be said of Gene Hackman that hasn't already been said? His Harry Zimm is so accurate that we believe he is this sleazy Hollywood producer. Mr. Hackman is a consummate performer who keeps getting better all the time.

If I had enjoyed the film the first time, looking at it a second time was a revelation.