Get Shorty (1995)

A Brilliant Conflict

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Through the course of the movie, parallels are drawn that depict the Hollywood work ethic as being similar to the type of mob work Chili is involved with. These amusing comparisons play themselves throughout the film, with classically stereotyped roles by an outstanding cast that range from the slimy director/producer to the Colombian drug-lord. In fact, it is the characters and the dialogue between these characters that make the movie outstanding. There is Chili Palmer (John Travolta), arguably one of the last true gangsters in the old tradition, whose speech and actions are undeniably cool and cutting. As a contrast to Chili, there is his boss, Ray Bones (Dennis Farina), who is a curt, abrasive character that is always looking for a way to one-up whoever he is dealing with. He is the type of person that wields more power than he actually possesses, creating several memorable scenes between his laughable character and Chili's perpetual coolness. Then there is the slimy director, Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), a second rate director of B horror movies, whose interactions with Chili show us a less professional view of Hollywood. There is also the pompous, egocentric actor Martin Weir (Danny De Vito), who makes us laugh at the lifestyle of the Hollywood star. All of the characters in Get Shorty show us an amusing side of Hollywood that is simultaneously paying homage to and poking fun at movies.There are two problems with this movie. While I did find the storyline entertaining, I did find it extremely confusing to keep up with the specific "details" of the story - namely who is who and who did what. Perhaps this traces back to the original Elmore Leonard novel for which this book is based on. I usually prefer my films at a "simpler" level - and I think that would have helped this story. The other problem is that I found the ending to be weak. While I think this movie does a very good job at not "dragging out" the ending, I ultimately found the ending a bit anti-climatic. It was an ultimate let-down to a movie that despite the confusing "details" of the plot, does provide an entertaining edge. All in all, this is a very well made movie. The actors are wonderful, the homage paid to prior films of it's ilk are subtle, yet, crafted skillfully, and the cinematography and music perfectly compliment the film flow and style.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini, David Paymer and Dennis Farina star in this 1995 comedy based on the novel. This focuses on Miami Loan-shark, Chili Palmer (Travolta) who decides to go into the movie business after he's sent to L.A. to collect a debt from producer, Harry Zimm (Hackman). Chili works with Harry on a script based on actual events of goofy dry-cleaner, Leo (Paymer) who scammed $300.000 off an airline he miraculously survived from. There's also a bag full of drug money hidden in an airport locker that becomes eyed by Chili and others. Russo (Major League) plays actress, Karen Flores who falls for Chili, DeVito (Throw Momma from the Train) plays her ex-husband & actor, Martin Weir, Lindo (Ransom) plays Harry's crooked investor, Bo Catlin who wants to work on Harry's new script, the late, Farina (Manhunter) plays Miami collector, Ray "Bones" Barboni who doesn't get along with Chili and the late, Gandolfini (The Sopranos) plays Bo's associate, Bear who is an actor/stuntman. This is a good, entertaining film with a great cast I recommend.

Now what does one make of this rather strange movie. What is the plot and if there is a plot, what is it? Get Shorty is not a mindless action flick, that is not what I am referring to when I am asking about a plot. Most action flicks generally have a plot, even though they are probably extremely shallow. Get Shorty, on the other hand, has a rather strange plot with some even stranger events.Chilli (John Travolta) is a loan shark who has been upset by another mafia boss in Miami named Ray Babone (Hal Linden). Chilli breaks Babone's nose and then shoots him just to let him know that he is not in the mood to be pushed around. Unfortunately Chilli's boss, Momo, dies in Brooklyn when he walks into a surprise party and has a heart attack. Babone then convinces him to go to Los Angeles to chase a laundry operator who owes him $300,000 after he allegedly died in a airplane crash. When Chilli gets to Los Angeles he is also asked by somebody in Las Vegas to get some money from a movie producer (Gene Hackman). When he breaks into the producer's house, he is struck with the movie making bug and decides that the current events would make a good movie. Thus he begins to try to drum up interest, mostly from a famous actor named Martin Wier (Danny DeVito) and gets involved with Wier's ex-wife who is an actress (Rene Ruso). Meanwhile another loan shark is after the producer for money that was lost at a casino.Pretty twisting little plot I thought and there were some quite funny scenes in the movie. It is the twisting plot that makes this movie shine. The major thing with the movie is a satirical look at Hollywood and the loansharking business. All of the films mentioned have really corny names suggesting the meaninglessness of the movies that are made. It is also shown as a bug that influences everybody that comes into the scene. Chilli and the LA loanshark are both caught by the producing bug and want to get into the film industry. Martin Wier is a typical actor and his personality is also satirised. He is shown Chilli's rent-a-car and decides that he likes it so much that he buys one himself. When they are having lunch, he orders everything for everybody and eats none of it suggesting that the actor always wants to be in control of the movie, even though it is the producer and the director that run the show. Then there is the ending where Ray Babone goes to the locker at LA airport and is caught by the DEA agents. This is twisted around in the film being made replacing the agents with Chilli, somebody much shorter, and a bad imitation of Babone. This goes to show the delusion that Hollywood creates. In a true story, the people become vague caricatures of the people that they are based upon, and are twisted to allow the famous actors to take the spot. Martin Wier is nothing like Chilli yet Chilli knows that to capture an audience, one must turn to a famous face.Then there is the film studio ending, the removal of the veil that shrouds Hollywood. It is revealed that all it is is a movie and any bad ending is meaningless because the antagonist is only an actor who walks away afterwards. No matter how evil this bad guy is and no matter how much he is hated, what happens in the movie is only an illusion. The bad guy is only an actor and his apparent death is just some ploy shot in front of the camera. In the end, they will all pack up and go home.Thus Get Shorty is a very intelligent and satirical movie. The bad guys are not threatening, but rather a caricature of the typical Hollywood villain. The movie is focused entirely on Chilli who is fearless and able to bend even the most intimidating person to his will. The most outstanding part of this movie is Gene Hackman's role. When I do not recognise the actor then that actor is doing a very good job. This was the case with Ed Harris in The Truman Show, and it is the case in this movie. Hackman has a famous face, yet it was a face that I did not recognise in this film.

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.