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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-

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.

I am not sure whether I liked the movie or just John Travolta and his character Chili Palmer. I had a lot of fun watching 'Get Shorty', based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, so it doesn't really matter. The movie is about a mobster from Miami, Chili Palmer, who ends up in Los Angeles. After meeting a movie producer named Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) he gets interested in the movie business. This is the main story, but this movie is based on an Elmore Leonard story so there are a lot of sub-plots with lots of interesting characters, all with great dialogue.

Besides Chili Palmer and Harry Zimm we meet Karen Flores (Rene Russo), an actress known for her screaming, Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) who is the hot actor of the moment, Ray Bones (Dennis Farina) who wants to collect some money that Chili has, Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo) who wants money fro Harry Zimm, Bear (James Gandolfini) who was a stuntman but now is Bo's bodyguard, Leo Devoe (David Paymer) who stole the money that brought Chili to Los Angeles and Doris (Bette Midler). All characters are colorful, have great dialogue and an interesting part in the story, but all those great things are there together with Chili. For every nice moment Travolta is present.

The actors play their characters very well. Again, Travolta is great and owns the movie, but especially Farina and Hackman do a great job as well. The movie is well directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (from 'The Addams Family'), knowing how to avoid boring moments. The story with its dialogue would be enough to make a nice movie out of it. Fortunately we have the actors and direction to make it even better and definitely more entertaining.

Smart, funny mobster comedy/satire based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. Travolta is well-cast in one of his very best roles as a slick, full-time Miami loan shark/enforcer (and part-time movie buff) who travels to Los Angeles to cash in a loan, but instead ends up teaming with B-movie writer/producer Hackman to fulfill his dream of being connected to the movie business. Before he can however, he must deal with bumbling mobsters, white-collar criminals, and the anxiety of trying to find the right leading man. Crackling, hilarious dialogue, well-drawn characters, and clever insight into Hollywood moviemaking run rampant in this snappy little comedy. Maybe not for all tastes, but well-made and a definite must for Travolta fans. ***

"Get Shorty" is a celebration of that usual Barry Sonnenfeld style of film making. Great characters, done by a great cast including John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo and.. Well the list just goes on and on. A perfect mix-up of that so called "character-comedy", a movie progressing and dependant on the characters, making it hilarious comedy chaos.

The best thing about this film is obviously the whole cast, John Travolta as the smooth bad ass Chili Palmer, Gene Hackman as the hectic Harry Zimm. A bit unusual role from Hackman, which also makes the character so hilariously surreal. Rene Russo as "the girl" Karen Flores, Danny DeVito as the movie star Martin Weir with a huge ego, Dennis Farina as the loud mouth usual himself Ray 'Bones' Barboni. Delroy Lindo as the tough Bo Catlett and James Gandolfini as Bo's bodyguard, failed stuntman Bear. Everyone just simply click together, which makes the movie even better than it actually is. It's just all about the characters. Chili Palmer must be one of the coolest characters ever seen on the big screen.

Like mentioned before, Barry Sonnenfeld is the director of the movie and I honestly can't imagine anyone else directing a movie with a screenplay like this except Steven Soderbergh, the director of for example both "Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve". I think that Sonnenfeld's and Soderbergh's styles connect together, they are very similar. And if they'd do a British version of the movie, the director would be Guy Ritchie without a doubt. If you recognised both Soderbergh and Ritchie, then you know the style I'm talking about and if you like both of their movies you should see "Get Shorty". The other thing similar between these three directors besides the directing is the music used in their films. It's that usual horns and trumpets, giving that funky and exciting feeling for the film. It just fits for movies like these, creating that what is needed for the style. It also connects with the cinematography as well; Sudden movements of the angles, sudden stops, shots really close of the faces in these specific angles and when you add the music to that it's voilá.

"Get Shorty" is all in all a great comedy with a plot that doesn't go over the silliness level. Sometimes movies like these go over that level, which usually make them funnier but also makes the whole story so unbelievable that it just isn't enjoyable as a movie anymore. Well the movie itself isn't THAT serious, it's a comedy after all, but it's definitely some quality entertainment. It includes a nice storyline, great characters and directing that just doesn't let you down. I recommend this movie to everyone once again. It's not amazing or phenomenal, it's a nice piece of entertainment, keeping you glued to your sofa throughout. What more can you ask for a boring Friday evening?

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).

John Travolta is outstanding in it as is the rest of the cast but it just didn't seem to amount to a lot. It was pretty good, sometimes quite funny with odd bursts of violence but I don't know. Altogether it just seems like it's missing something but maybe that's just me. Perhaps if I read the book, it'd mean more. What it's saying about Hollywood I think everybody already knows and knew a long time ago but perhaps it seemed more fresh and daring in the 90s. I wasn't quite sure where it was going but then when it got there, I felt so so. Not awful, quite good in fact, but something was missing for me. As far as films based on Elmore Leonard's work, I prefer Out of Sight or 3:10 to Yuma.

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.

After hearing, I can see instantly why this is the author, Elmore Leonard's favorite movie adaptation from his writing. First of all John Travolta was a solid-standard, as Chili. If you're a Travolta fan, this is an instant classic performance for him!! He personifies East coast attitude and 'M.O'. His breeze onto the scene and in control persona are a part of this movie that would have collapsed it, had it not been an ingredient in this mix of action, sarcasm and loan-sharking gone amok. Chili is superior.

Gene Hackman, is an attempted to be cool, b-movie director, who hasn't had a hit in years, and you can feel it. Gene's man Harry is so played-right it's embarrassing. I know people that are like that. I was laughing till it hurt, from the familiar pain, of the ones who reminded me of the great Harry Zimm. Hackman is astounding.

Before there was the Sopranos there was {James Gandolfini as} 'Bear' Bo's handy-man, his fix-it guy all around. Bear reminds me (sort of) one of my cousins. Ha, take that home with ya in a doggy bag!

Danny Devito, is a great self-conscious (and to others feelings) selfish and unconscious, totally absorbed actor, who is about the way it is with many of the actor types, who let it go too far. Danny is the man!

Rene Russo is the lovely, Karen Flores of course and she is as pretty in pictures as in 'Real' life. I got to meet her in 1992, and got a really great hug from her, she's very thoughtful and talented, with much more talent to follow after this great film.

The way the story was set up and progressed with, makes me love this and puts it in a special place in my entertainment library.

This is a fun 'You gotta see it and experience the mood and all the other emotions that follow' type of movie madness that makes watching some movies, very worthwhile. This is a high rater!!! (*****) Caution: Language rating pretty bad!!

Chili Palmer (John Travolta) works for the mob. He's volatile, intense, and extremely street smart. When Ray Barboni (Dennis Farina) takes Chili's coat, he promptly punches Ray in the face to get his coat back. Too bad for Chili, his boss dies and he has to work for Ray's crew. He's collecting from producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), and ends up getting into the world of movie making.

This is from an Elmore Leonard novel, and the sharply written characters are a testament to that. Whether it's Leonard's words, the top actors, or the flash of Hollywood. There's an artificial sense. It's light. It's breezy. It's jazzy. The movie is having lots of fun. It makes for a cute movie.

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.

A Miami mobster (John Travolta) discovers that the Hollywood movie business isn't that far from what he's doing Florida in "Get Shorty," a 1995 film based on the novel by Elmore Leonard.

Travolta is Chili Palmer, who is sent by a thug named Ray Bones (Dennis Farina) to Las Vegas to collect on a bad debt. While in Vegas, a casino boss sends Chili to Hollywood to collect on a bigger debt from a low-budget horror film producer, Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman).

Chili actually has an idea for a film, based on a true story. He soon finds himself involved with drug dealers, the producer's scream queen star (Rene Russo), a short but big star with a tall ego (Danny Devito), who is the scream queen's ex, murder, money in an airport locker, the Feds - in short, it's business as usual. Chili decides that his skills are a great match for Hollywood and decides to become a producer.

A very funny send-up of the movie-making business, with a terrific cast and several cameos by people such as Penny Marshall, Harvey Keitel, and Alex Rocco. Bette Midler has a small but showy role as well.

What makes the film is John Travolta's performance as Chili. Easy-going, smart, and personable, with solid rock underneath, Travolta is fabulous and the anchor of the film.

The dialogue is crisp, and the cast helps to create some strong characters, and there is great pacing by director Barry Sonnenfeld.

Recommended.

Not a bad film, but very disappointing. It plays too much like a Hollywood inside joke that not enough of the audience is in on. Travolta is his usual charming personna, but Rene Russo is badly miscast. Gene Hack seems to be having the most fun by doing a great take on schlock director Ted V Mikels, down to Ted's trademark horn necklace. I did enjoy the poster of Danny DeVito as Napoleon.

A Miami loan shark ends up in Hollywood, hobnobbing with B movie personalities. Leonard, who has had a prolific and varied career, provides a script that is generally entertaining, but there are too many plot threads and it doesn't all come together as well as it does in the best comedies. The cast is terrific: Travolta is believable as a tough goon, Hackman is smooth as a producer of schlocky movies, Russo is sexy as an actress past her bimbo prime, and DeVito is a shallow movie star (and title supplier). However, it is Farina who steals the film in a hilarious performance as an insecure mobster who's always left holding the wrong end of the stick.

Not bad. Slightly overrated but enjoyable. It ages well. Really not much more to say on it without spoiling it. Just a Hollywoodized mobish flick. Honestly I expected more from this however it works on some level because it could be an indie movie if it wanted to go in the direction but the problem is the star power behind it. All of the actors are hitting above their pay grade, after all they are all A - List actors so it would have been hard for them to mess it up. Think of it as a bloodless movie movie meets Hollywood mixed in with indie stuff. Would I recommend this to people? Probably not.

Anything involving something by Elmore Leonard is generally very good, in and of itself. But when coupled with performances like those of John Travolta and Gene Hackman in this picture, the result is a superb piece of entertainment.

Danny De Vito, Dennis Farina and Rene Russo all deliver outstanding performances - but all pretty much convey the types of personas, on-screen, which you'd expect from seeing their other work.

However, of all actors today - young or older, new or veteran -- there are no two who are more convincing, in everything they do, than Travolta and Hackman. Serious or funny, crafty or clueless, hero or villain - - each has been completely convincing in every role, and seeing them together, one would like to see them teamed again.

In this movie, both are funny, and both have their roles "nailed:" Travolta as the confident tough guy, completely in control; and Hackman as the "B" flick producer, operating on the fringe of the Hollywood scene and life in general.

As much as I liked this movie, I first saw it in a St. Louis hotel suite, where we selected it from the PPV menu. I was "fried" from a day-long business meeting, and fell asleep early into it. The next day, my wife insisted that I catch it (she's one of those people who has perhaps only wanted to watch one or two other movies a second time, ever), and I was glad she did.

It's an outstanding film, and one which entertains thoroughly from the outset to conclusion, with not a single lapse between.

It's a fairly funny flick. Travolta is steadfast and mature...though his 'comeback' flick was definitely "Pulp Fiction", he manages to carry the movie with help from a pretty solid cast... and he's believable. It's quite a twist to see Gene Hackman playing a wimpish producer, but he shows he has a flair for comedy...and that's what this film is...comedy, and a lot of fun. Travolta is a real control freak in this one, but gets caught off the mark at one or two critical points. But with "Wise-Guy" bravado, he navigates his way through the likes of Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, and Mike Gandolfini among others. The switch from juicing and loan sharking to movies comes about as quite natural for him, though he does have issues to settle before he can nestle in to his newly found occupation. I only recently saw the movie (2010), and I always thought that it was called "Get Shorty" on account of the presence of the diminutive DeVito...but that is not the case. The title must be an "inside joke" to some in the industry, but it threw me for a loop, and I determined I did not care to watch it. I am glad I finally did run across it on an old VHS...it is a worthwhile watch even if the title is somewhat mis-leading.

I saw this movie in 1995 when first released, but never got around to thinking about a review until I saw it again a few weeks back on late night TV. I'd forgotten just how good it is...

From a novel by Elmore Leonard, this story is arguably the best satire about the Hollywood dream factory yet done, for two reasons: it savagely exposes and lampoons the behaviors of actors, writers, producers and directors and it implicitly compares that business with the business of small time hoodlums and loan sharks. So many times during this story does Chili Palmer (John Travolta) announce, in a bemused fashion: "I can't believe how youse guys do business out here..." Chili, as we learn very early, is a loan shark from Miami who is ordered by Bones (Dennis Farina), his new boss, to recover a $15,000 debt from Leo (David Paymer), a loser with a garrulous wife, Fay (Linda Hart) who's helped Leo fake his own death on a plane crash and collect $300,000 as a settlement from the airline. Fay, of course, can't keep her mouth shut and tells Chili that Leo scammed the money and was now living it up in Vegas. Chili, in Vegas, finds out that Leo has gone to LA. But Chili also makes a score: a Vegas casino owner asks him to lean on an LA movie producer, Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) for $150,000 still owing.

So, off to La-La Land goes Chili, and that's where the fun really starts...

The plot then changes direction, almost completely: Chili, after recovering most of the $300,000 from Leo (and letting him off lightly), gets involved with Harry in two ways – first, convinces him to take on Chili's own idea for a movie production and second, fend off two "investors" (who just happened to be drug pushers also) who want their money back from Harry who – you guessed it – is late in getting some other movie off the ground, and has spent all their money.

However, those two pushy investors, Bo Catlett and Ronnie Wingate (Delroy Lindo and John Gries), have another problem: the $500,000 drug money that they can't retrieve from a locker box at LAX and which Chili sees as an opportunity to make more profit. That idea, however, is blown away when Bones – who would like nothing better than to see Chili dead -- arrives from Miami looking to muscle in on Chili's business in LA.

How all that threads together into a gloriously comedic and ironic slice of Hollywood life and death is a testament to Leonard's brilliant story, a great screenplay and cinematography and tight editing – not to mention the almost flawless acting by actors who are continually taking the mickey out of the whole business, right up to the final scene.

There's no doubt that this is Travolta's comeback movie. The guy just oozes dangerous cool and --- ooops – chilling competence as he maneuvers between the high and low life of a strange town, with some very strange people and even stranger business practices. But, kudos also go to Dennis Farina, Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito as the klutzes they portray; and Renee Russo is suitably decorous as Chili's love interest. Watch out for cameos from Bette Midler, Harvey Keitel and other Hollywood luminaries.

And, here's the supreme self-referential irony: there really is a real Chili Palmer in the movie; he's one of the actors who has a bit part as one of Bones' buddies! What a gag...

Finally, note the title: Get Shorty. That's Elmore Leonard's delicious swipe at the whole gangster genre. Remember Get Carter (1971)...? Ho-ho-HO-ho-ho!

Highly recommended.

Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is highly into movies. He's a super-cool guy and he always knows what to say. So through his connections he tracks down a Hollywood producer by the name of Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), wakes him up in the middle of the night and tells him that he has an idea for a movie. That is the first time Chili sees Karen Flores (Rene Russo) and is attracted to her right away.

So Chili and Harry agree on what actor they want in their movie. It is none other than the famous Martin Weir (Danny DeVito). Martin agrees with them to make this picture. Harry is still wondering if he should make this movie with his new friend, Chili, or the selfish Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), who wants nothing more than to get rid off Chili.

However, Chili's issues aren't over, because a tough guy, Ray 'Bones' Barboni, (Dennis Farina) that's never been out of Miami is looking for him to collect his money which Leo Devoe (David Paymer) has stolen.

Other supporting roles are Harvey Keitel as himself and Bear (James Gandolfini) as Bo's bodyguard.

If you liked Out Of Sight and Jackie Brown, which are also novels by Elmore Leonard, you'll enjoy Get Shorty.

There's lots of humor in here and some funny scenes for example: when Gene Hackman calls Dennis Farina and tries (tries a bit too hard, which is the fun part) to act tough over the phone like Chili does in real life.

Overall, good cast, enjoyable movie.

Rating: 7.5/10

One of the great mysteries of all time, right up there with Area 51 and the Da Vinci Code, is why the film industry, now into its second century and -- as you read this -- consuming on a relative basis more bandwidth than any other form of media, cannot produce consistently decent product? Now don't misunderstand. This is not to say that most movies are inherently bad, for that is not true either. However one of the dirty little secrets of the industry is that the "breakout" ratio is around 20:1. That is, for every 19 forgettable products that are churned out -- products that keep the cable and streaming media pipelines full, and keep food on the table for all the electricians, caterers, and Best Boys -- about one actually is memorable enough to attract a permanent audience or become near-iconic. Not a very efficient ratio! The late Marshall McLuhan tried in his lifetime to develop the notion of "media ecology," essentially the premise that the cultural output of a society was no less important than any other industry output, and therefore an effort should be made NOT TO WASTE THE RESOURCES or (simply put) produce junk. Like the infamous joke about about the "Nietzsche graffiti" (first line: "God is dead - Nietzsche." Second line: "Nietzsche is dead. God") that attempt did not turn out so well. McLuhan is gone, and the ratio has arguably gotten worse, because there are now many more pipelines to fill. Which brings us, belatedly, to GET SHORTY, not only a great film (one of Travolta's best performances, so effortless you wonder if he phoned it in, and Pixar just added a body) but one of Hollywood's most "inside" scripts ever. (Comedians have "inside jokes." Hollywood has "inside scripts.") The premise here is that the making of a movie has little to do with the movie, and everything to do with egos and business capabilities of the people making it. The idea that a professional mobster could stumble into Hollywood and suddenly realize that making a film is no different than planning a hit, or a robbery, is sheer brilliance. And very close to home. In the history of the medium, it is one of the only movies to deal with the delicate (and unpopular) issue of ... why so many bad films have to be made, simply to produce one good one...?

"Get Shorty" is a Comedy - Crime movie in which we watch a mobster traveling to Hollywood to collect a debt from a person when he finds out that movie business has some similarities with his job. As he figures this out he wants to get inside a movie but he has to deal with some difficulties that came up.

I found this movie very funny and I enjoyed it since it had many funny scenes and despite the simple plot it was interesting. The direction which was made by Barry Sonnenfeld was very good and he combined very well the big names of the cinema and he created a simply hilarious movie. The interpretations of John Travolta who played as Chili Palmer, Gene Hackman who played as Harry Zimm, Danny DeVito who played as Martin Weir and Rene Russo who played as Karen Flores were very good. Finally, I have to say that "Get Shorty" is a funny, interesting movie and I recommend everyone to watch it because I am sure that you will have a great time and you will laugh a lot.

another great book turned into a mediocre movie. I had hopes for this one, considering the last few Elmore Leonard novels-turned-movies turned out great, but this one was a constant disappointment.

Rene Russo did a pretty good job as Karen Flores, and Travolta did "ok" as Chili, but other than that I think every character was mis-cast, and because of it, most of them fell flat and lacked depth.

I have to recommend that you read the book, and steer clear of the movie, or check out one of the other movies based on Elmore Leonard books, like Out of Sight or Jackie Brown, both of which were much better...