Be Cool

''Be Cool'' is a 2005 American crime comedy film directed by F. Gary Gray and based on Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel, which was the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel '' Get Shorty''. The movie is the sequel to the 1995 film adaptation of ''Get Shorty'', with John Travolta reprising his role and also starring Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Vince Vaughn, Robert Pastorelli, Uma Thurman, James Woods, Christina Milian, Steven Tyler, Dwayne Johnson, Harvey Keitel, and Danny DeVito. The plot follows mobster Chili Palmer, portrayed by Travolta, as he enters into the music industry.

The film adaptation of ''Be Cool'' began production in 2004 and was produced by DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher. The film was released on March 4, 2005, receiving negative reviews and grossing $95 million against a budget of $53–75 million.

Plot

Ernesto "Chili" Palmer, restless and disenchanted with filmmaking, enters the music industry after witnessing the Russian mob publicly whack his friend Tommy Athens, owner of a small, independent record label. Chili offers to help Tommy's widow, Edie Athens, manage the failing business, which owes $300,000 to hip-hop producer Sin LaSalle.

Chili is impressed by small-time club singer Linda Moon and helps free her from contractual obligations to crooked producers Nick Carr and Raji, who has a gay Samoan bodyguard named Elliot, an aspiring actor and the butt of Carr and Raji's gay jokes. Carr and Raji pay hitman Joe "Loop" Lupino to kill Chili before he can save Edie's company by arranging a live performance for Linda accompanied by Steven Tyler and Aerosmith.

LaSalle demands payment of the $300,000 but agrees to give Chili a few days to get the money plus the vig. When the Russians attempt to kill Chili, Joe Loop mistakenly kills mob enforcer Ivan Argianiyev. Carr is furious about the mistake and demands that Raji talks to Loop at once. Raji then beats Loop to death with a metal baseball bat after Loop "disrespects" him.

Carr then tries to trick Chili by handing him a pawn ticket, claiming that the only copy of Linda's contract is at a pawn shop owned by the Russians. Chili, being much smarter than Carr anticipated, has Edie tip off the FBI and starts a fight to get the shop raided. Raji and Elliot then set up LaSalle by making him believe that Carr tricked Chili into giving him the $300,000 to get Linda's contract. LaSalle and his bodyguards, rap group DubMD, confront Carr in his office, as does the Russian boss, Bulkin, and his men. Insulted by Bulkin's racist remarks, LaSalle personally murders him on impulse.

Chili squeezes in a dance scene with Edie, celebrating as Linda Moon gets to make her appearance and becomes an instant success. He also manages to placate LaSalle by agreeing that he will produce Linda's next album and get a share of the profits.

Carr is enraged upon hearing of the deal, so he and Raji order Elliot to kill Chili. By assuring Elliot that he can help his acting career, Chili befriends him. After learning that Chili had gotten him an audition for a Nicole Kidman film, Elliot turns on Raji, who had erased the message on his answering machine. For all his smooth talking and flamboyant wardrobe, Raji is burned to death on camera by a fireworks explosion. Carr is arrested on murder charges when Chili makes sure he is caught with the bat used to kill Joe Loop, via another pawn ticket.

At the MTV Video Music Awards, Linda wins the awards for best new artist and video of the year. During her acceptance speech, she thanks Edie, Sin and Chili. Edie and Chili leave the award ceremony. As Chili drives off, he passes a billboard revealing that Elliot is the co-star of a new movie with Kidman.

Cast

Cameos

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released on March 1, 2005.

Songs featured in the film but not included on the soundtrack are:

* "Act a Ass" E-40
* "Autumn Blue"
* " Best of My Love" Christina Milian, Carol Duboc, and Minae Noji
* " Beethoven's 9th" Dean Hurley
* "Brazilian Day" XMAN
* "Chattanooga Choo Choo" Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums
* "Cooliest" Jimi Englund
* " Cryin'" Aerosmith and Christina Milian
* "Deanstone" Dean Hurley
* "(Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone" Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums
* "Heistus Interruptus"
* " Kiss Me" Sixpence None the Richer
* "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" Bob Dylan
* " Lady Marmalade Carol Duboc and Minae Noji
* "La Primavera"
* "Melbourne Mansion"
* "Marvelous Things" Eisley (video visible in background)
* " Me So Horny" 2 Live Crew
* "Moving On"
* "Praia de Genipabu" Barbara Mendes
* "Rock It Like Diss" Jahmaal Rashad
* "Santa Monica Man" Dean Hurley
* "Short Pimp" Noah Lifschey and Dylan Berry
* "Strings in Velvet" Manfred Minnich
* "Travel Russia #2" The Dollhouse Players
* "Wild Out" Cheming (featuring XMAN)

Release

Box office

On a production budget of $53–75 million, ''Be Cool'' grossed $56 million in North America and $39.2 million internationally, totaling up to $95.2 million worldwide.

Critical reception

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the '' Chicago Sun-Times'' called it "A classic species of bore: a self-referential movie with no self to refer to. One character after another, one scene after another, one cute line of dialogue after another, refers to another movie, a similar character, a contrasting image, or whatever."
Halliwell called it "a palpable miss, a movie so lazy and laid back that it falls over; there are none of those insights ... that made ''Get Shorty'' so enjoyable"."Halliwell's Film Guide"

In an August 2015 interview with '' Deadline'', director F. Gary Gray discussed the failure of the film, stating: "With ''Be Cool'', I made some assumptions in thinking that movie was going to work. I'd just made a successful PG-13 movie The Italian Job''">The Italian Job (2003 film)">The Italian Job'' and when I walked into ''Be Cool'', it was rated R and then at the last minute in preproduction I was told, 'Well, you have to make this PG-13.' I should have walked off the film. This was a movie about shylocks and gangsta rappers and if you can't make that world edgy, you probably shouldn't do it. I walked in thinking I was going to make one movie and then it changed. Maybe it was arrogant of me to think because I had success in this realm of PG-13 I could make that work."

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Be Cool
2005 films
2005 crime comedy films
2005 LGBTQ-related films
2000s satirical films
20th Century Fox films
American crime comedy films
American LGBTQ-related films
American satirical films
American sequel films
2000s English-language films
Films about music and musicians
Films based on works by Elmore Leonard
Films directed by F. Gary Gray
Films scored by John Powell
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Massachusetts
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
2000s Russian-language films
Films produced by Danny DeVito
Films about the Russian Mafia
2000s American films
LGBTQ-related crime comedy films
English-language crime comedy films