IMDb > Be Cool (2005)
Be Cool
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Be Cool (2005) -- Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer (John Travolta) tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music exec (Uma Thurman) on the way.
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Overview

User Rating:
5.6/10   29,382 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
F. Gary Gray
Writers (WGA):
Elmore Leonard (novel)
Peter Steinfeld (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Be Cool on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 March 2005 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime more
Tagline:
Everyone is looking for the next big hit
Plot:
Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer (John Travolta) tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music exec (Uma Thurman) on the way. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(59 articles)
Raising Hell: Style vs. Substance in The House Of The Devil
 (From Fangoria. 3 November 2009, 3:22 PM, PST)

Law Abiding Citizen
 (From Scorecard Review. 16 October 2009, 7:05 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Our of Respect for Elmore Leonard I Must Comment more (319 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references.
Runtime:
118 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Russian
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Elmore Leonard named Dwayne Johnson's character after real-life film critic and Detroit Institute of Arts film curator Elliot Wilhelm (the real Wilhelm makes an uncredited appearance early in the film as a patron at the Viper Room). more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Raji is talking to Nick Carr his silver chain is repeatedly in/out of his shirt between shots. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Chili Palmer: I hate sequels.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Silver Bells (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Fantasy more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
Our of Respect for Elmore Leonard I Must Comment, 3 January 2008
1/10
Author: ennyman from Minnesota, United States

I rarely give ratings less than 5, but in this instance I must weigh in. Elmore Leonard is a great writer with many wonderful, complex books, original characters, crisp dialogue, invigorating plot twists. Films based on his books go way back to Hombre (Paul Newman), Mr. Majestyk (Bronson), and Out of Sight (Clooney / Lopez) among others. Even when done so-so the films at least have some measure of story essence coming through. This one, .... it is simply not a worthy addition to the catalog.

The acting is bad (I do not know why, because these are very capable people here) and the story is handled with stupidity. The characters are re-arranged, the chemistry is missing, the actors and actresses are mis-cast.

Since Elmore Leonard is a really great story teller, I would hope that anyone who does not know his work would be dissuaded from reading his books because they saw this disappointing rendition of one of his stories.

The story is a sequel to Get Shorty. If you have not seen that film, do not watch this. If you have seen Get Shorty, do not proceed to this.

I saw Be Cool a few years back, and tonight have been re-visiting the vid. The first time must not have made such a negative impression because I had forgotten how dismal this sequel was.

Fortunately, I think no less of those who appeared in this film for having done so. They probably expected something more. Get Shorty was original and great fun. Travolta I nearly always like, but he is so much better in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and in the preceding Get Shorty. He was clearly unable to enjoy whatever was going on here.

And I hear Freaky Deaky,another Elmore Leonard book, is in pre-production for 2008 release. Hopefully they can pull it off.

Read the books. They are almost all great.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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