Customer Reviews

Be Cool

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I gave this movie two stars only because I am an avid John Travolta fan, and Chili Palmer is one cool cat. Get shorty, is one of my favourite J.T. movies and that's why I feel let down by this empty sequel. It's true that in the past Travolta has made some questionable film choices (or maybe his agent has) but this movie is all salad. A Long, drawn out, 2 hr collection of boring musical performances, highlighted by a handfull of great moments delivered by a chosen few(Travolta, Andre, Cedric and the Rock). Too much bun and not enough burger.

Since it looked like this movie had many similar elements to Get Shorty, I thought it was a sure thing. Wow, was I wrong.

Despite a solid cast, this movie somehow manages to be totally boring and lame. The script falls flat and the cast just can't compensate for it. Don't waste your time with this.

I new this movie was made for TV but I figured that with so many well know actors that it would rival real movies. I was wrong. It was quite formula and many of the actors just walked through their parts.

Chili Palmer (John Travolta "Grease" (1978)) ex-shylock goes from movie producer to record producer with the discovery of a suppressed singer Linda Moon (Christina Milian.) Naturally she is under contract to a bad guy. Well so it does not look too simple or like some second rate musical, we through in a black want-to-be, a black gangster singing group, and even the Russian mafia.

One of the main catalysts and the reason to watch this is Uma Thurman who played Irene Cassini in "GATTACA" (1997), and has done the impossible by just keeps looking cuter with age.

Danny DeVito must think he is Alfred Hitchcock as he makes his cameo in the movie.

All in all it is watchable. Buy Blu-ray when yu can but do not expect the acting to get any better.

I thought this movie was hilarious; it's one of the most entertaining movies I've seen all year. Maybe if I had seen Get Shorty, I would have felt differently about this "sequel," but I really don't think so for the simple reason that funny is funny. John Travolta is still the coolest cat in town, but it's the entire, star-studded cast that really makes Be Cool something I consider rather special. I think about half of Hollywood appears somewhere in this film, and no one gets in to the spirit of self-parody and hilarity more than The Rock. Truly, this is The Rock as you've never seen him before. Vince Vaughan is just ridiculously funny as a white gangsta music manager sporting Sweet Daddy's hand-me-down threads, but even he can smell the kind of unforgettable comedy The Rock is cooking in his scene-stealing performance.

I'll admit the movie doesn't have a particularly compelling plot, but this is one case in which plot really doesn't matter all that much. For what it's worth, though, you have Chili Palmer (Travolta) moving into the music business, trying to make a star out of an obviously talented young lady named Linda Moon (Christina Milian). Chili happens to have a strong connection to Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), and the timing is perfect for putting the moves on Edie because she has recently become a widow (an event for which Chili had a really good seat). There's a problem, though, because Linda is under contract with a slimeball named Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel). Vince Vaughan plays her ludicrously pseudo-ghetto manager Raji. The Rock is Raji's driver, but he's also a singer and an actor looking for stardom. I'm telling you, you've got to see this movie just for The Rock's performance alone - he's hilarious, and just wait until you see his character's music video. But I digress. You also have some Russian mafia guys running around, and Cedric the Entertainer adds even more to the movie as a music producer/gangsta who brings the whole crew when he rolls up to get in somebody's business - including his wife's cousin Dabu (Andre Benjamin), who just doesn't quite fit the role of a young gangsta.

This isn't Pulp Fiction or even Get Shorty. Don't go looking for Tarantino because you won't find him here. Be Cool plays solely for laughs, and it got almost two hours out of laughter from me. It's the kind of movie you can't really describe - it's just too kooky. I know a lot of viewers hold the movie in low regard, but I would urge you to at least give it a chance. It really is one of the funniest movies I've seen in some time. And, for the record, I also thought it was pretty darn cool.