“I ordered a
Cadillac. That’s the Cadillac of mini-vans!”
Get Shorty was a big hit
when it was originally released in 1995 cementing John Travolta’s
memorable comeback into movie superstardom (it was released after
Pulp Fiction) and is now spawning a sequel to be released in March
2005 entitled Be Cool along with the aptly timed release of
this Collector’s Edition DVD. The film is based on a novel from
Elmore Leonard and it boasts dialogue ripped straight from the
intriguing source.
Get Shorty
is a satire about the similarities between organized crime and the
film industry, and that the same qualities and skills needed to be a
successful gangster are the same as those for a movie producer. It
follows Chili Palmer (John Travolta), a Miami loan shark with a love
and knowledge of movies, who through a series of events ends up in
Hollywood on an assignment to catch a dry cleaner (David Paymer) who
has taken off with the boss’s money.
The boss, Ray
‘Bones’ Barboni (Dennis Farina), is the one who sends Chili out to LA
to collect. Chili decides to take another small assignment in LA from
another associate (since he’ll be out there anyway), which is to
collect a casino debt from a deadbeat movie producer, Harry Zimm (Gene
Hackman). He runs Zimm down quickly and talks tough to him about
paying this debt and he also decides this is the perfect opportunity
to pitch his movie idea. Zimm thinks it’s a great idea and the two of
them decide to go into business together.
Chili helps take
care of Zimm’s financing issues by running down that dry cleaner and
“borrowing” the money for this project. He either muscles his way or
uses his charm to get what they need for the film or what he needs for
himself. He charms the pants off one of Hollywood’s leading stars,
Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) who agrees to do the film and consequently
goes around mimicking Chili (he even buys the same car as him). Chili
also helps Zimm stay out of trouble with a local gangster, Bo (Delroy
Lindo) who is also trying to force his way into a partnership with
Zimm. A romance also begins to blossom between Chili and B-movie
actress, Karen Flores (Rene Russo), who was dating Zimm and who had
also dated Weir. The two hit it off immediately and it isn’t long
before they are the ones running the show.
Things are going
great for Chili out in Hollywood until his old boss Bones comes
looking for him and his money. Through it all, Chili never loses his
cool, he is always in command, and he is determined to have his way.
CRITIQUE
Get Shorty has such an
absolutely terrific cast (who all have such smart and colorful
dialogue to work with) that it manages to rise above its inherent
flaws. The film is classified as a black comedy, although the
“black”, dark aspects are almost unnoticeable. This is a very light,
breezy and cute comedy fashioned as an inside Hollywood satire, without much bite as a satire but with enough
charm and charisma to succeed as a broad comedy.
The cast is what
truly makes this film a success (however mild of a success it might
be). The stand out performance is John Travolta as Chili Palmer.
Travolta does an absolutely magnificent job of inheriting every ounce
of this character, making Chili a force to be reckoned with on the one
hand and a charming, loveable guy on the other. I personally think
this is his best performance and he should have been nominated for it
(he did win a Golden Globe for it). He is surrounded by a first class
supporting cast who all give tremendous performances. Gene Hackman,
who at first wasn’t interested in the role because he didn’t want to
do comedy, just perfectly hits all the right comedic notes. His Harry
Zimm is just the embodiment of sleazy Hollywood and his ineptness at
everything is a constant comic highlight. Rene Russo brings just that
right mix of charm, intelligence, sex appeal and toughness that she’s
brought to some of her other great roles (like Tin Cup and
The Thomas Crown Affair). She makes the perfect romantic fit for
Chili. Then there are two smaller roles that steal every scene and
bring most of the laugh out moments. Danny DeVito as the pampered
star who goes around mimicking Chili and Dennis Farina as the angry,
accident prone Bones are just brilliant in their respective roles.
DeVito has never been better and Farina has done this character many
times but he is at his best here. The great cast is rounded out by
great performances from the always-reliable Delroy Lindo as Chili’s
gangster competition and James Gandolfini as one of his henchman
before his Soprano’s fame.
The script is just
terrific, the perfect balancing act of pulling all these plotlines
together into something so easily followed is amazing. The dialogue
is really what pulls you into the film though. Travolta did not sign
on until a rewrite was done that used Leonard’s actual dialogue from
the novel and what a lucky thing that was. His dialogue is so crisp,
smart, and witty it can turn an otherwise dull moment into something
worthwhile. In fact, the film has many moments that would have been
dull if not for this brilliant dialogue. Even Sonnenfeld felt the
film had too many dull spots (as he discusses on one of the extras),
but the saving grace each time is this terrific dialogue. And it
never hurts to have a cast as good as this to chew on it. The
direction by Sonnenfeld is also quite good, his use of steadicam shots
and different angles help liven up the pace and give the film a very
breezy, cool vibe. He keeps everything light and funny.
Where Get Shorty
suffers is in trying to be a satire with a dark edge to it. The story
itself strives to be this biting inside Hollywood-type satire while
maintaining dark aspects (there are murders and crime galore). The
satire is very weak compared to other great films that have covered
the same territory and the dark aspects conflict with the broad comedy
that it is filmed as. The performances and direction are so light and
charming that any dark aspects are almost unnoticeable and feel out of
place. The murder of the drug mule by Bo is a great example. That
whole plotline seems unnecessary and out of place with the tone and
events of the rest of the film.
THE VIDEO
The transfer for
the Collector’s Edition was not quite as a good as I would have
expected, the black tones are especially murky and not clean and
crisp. The colors do look vibrant though and there are no edge
problems. I was just surprised that the murky black tones were not
cleaned up.
THE AUDIO
Get Shorty
is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the audio is
fantastic. Compared with the original cut or the first release of the
film on DVD, this is a noticeable improvement. The balances are
perfect and all the dialogue is crisp and clear.
THE EXTRAS
Commentary by
Director Barry Sonnenfeld – This is a very informative commentary by a man whose voice
could drop you into a coma. Sonnenfeld expertly details the making of
the film but he does so in such a dry, monotone style I could barely
get through it. It’s too bad they couldn’t have gotten some cast
members to do the commentary with him to liven it up.
Get Shorty:
Look at Me
- This is an average featurette on the conception of the film and the
development of the characters from page to screen. It has new
interviews with the cast mixed with vintage interviews, and it goes
through the normal “making of” motions. Nothing groundbreaking or
hugely entertaining, but the cast is forthcoming and interesting.
Get Shorty:
Wiseguys and Dolls
– Fairly similar featurette that goes specifically into the characters
and the cast portraying them. This could have easily been combined
with the Look at Me featurette. They must separate this kind of
material to fill out these 2 disc special editions.
The Graveyard Scene
– This was a gem of a scene that was cut from the original film with
the scene in full and commentary discussing why the scene was cut.
The scene has Ben Stiller in it as a young fresh out of school
director and it is hilarious. I can see Sonnenfeld’s point in leaving
it out but after the success Stiller has had since I’m sure he wishes
he hadn’t cut it.
Going Again:
Outtakes
– This is a series of outtakes that is really more of real behind the
scenes footage mostly showing DeVito and Sonnenfeld goofing around.
But there is one very memorable outtake of DeVito showing his comic
genius, very funny bit.
Get Shorty
Party Reel
– A fun and engaging bloopers reel from the making of the film with a
few surprises in it.
Bravo
Page-to-Screen Look at Get Shorty – This is an episode from Bravo’s excellent series that
takes an in-depth look at bringing Elmore Leonard’s novel to the big
screen. It starts with the conceptualizing of the novel itself all
the way through to the film’s box office success. This is a
magnificent extra with just the right amount of information and fun
commentary.
Sneak Peek at Be
Cool
FINAL THOUGHTS
As a broad
comedy with a talented cast working with smart and witty dialogue,
Get Shorty is a small success. As a satire and black comedy it
lacks true bite and isn’t quite clever enough. It’s enjoyable and
entertaining on a small scale that would be mostly forgettable if not
for a career best performance from John Travolta.
