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''Get Shorty'' is a 1995 American
gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...
and written by
Scott Frank A. Scott Frank (born March 10, 1960) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Frank has received two Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay for '' ...
, based on
Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...
's 1990 novel. The film stars
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
,
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...
,
Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as '' Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...
, Delroy Lindo,
James Gandolfini James John Gandolfini (; September 18, 1961June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007 ...
, Dennis Farina, and
Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...
. It follows Chili Palmer (Travolta), a Miami mobster and loan shark who inadvertently gets involved in Hollywood feature film production. The film's success launched its titular franchise, including a sequel titled ''
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 Sh ...
'' (2005) and a
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
, which debuted in 2017.


Plot

Chili Palmer is a Miami-based
loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...
and movie buff. When his leather jacket is taken by rival mobster Ray "Bones" Barboni, Chili retrieves it and breaks Bones' nose. Bones ambushes him at his office, but Chili shoots first, grazing Bones' forehead. Bones' boss refuses to retaliate, reminding him that Chili is under the protection of Brooklyn mob boss Momo. After Momo dies of a heart attack, Bones takes over his operation and demands that Chili collect an outstanding debt from Leo Devoe, a dry cleaner who died in a plane crash. Chili learns from Leo's wife Faye that her husband is alive, having left the plane before takeoff; she received a settlement of $300,000, but Leo ran away with the cash. Chili tracks Leo to a Las Vegas casino, where he accepts an additional job to collect a large gambling debt from
B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
director Harry Zimm. Surprising Harry in Los Angeles at the home of
scream queen A scream queen (a wordplay on ''screen queen'') is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. Scream king is the equivalent for men. Notable scream queen examples include ...
Karen Flores, Chili pitches him his real-life chasing of Leo's debt as an idea for a movie. Harry persuades Chili to help him placate his investors Bo Catlett and Ronnie Wingate, who use their limo service as a drug front. Having gambled away the pair's $200,000 investment, Harry shows Chili the script he really wants to make, ''Mr. Lovejoy''; he needs $500,000 to buy the rights from the writer's widow, Doris. Chili confronts Leo and takes his money to invest in ''Mr. Lovejoy'', deciding to become a Hollywood producer, and rejects Bo's suggestion that they collaborate. Bo has left $500,000 in a locker at the airport for his Colombian contacts to collect. A naive gangster, Yayo Portillo, is sent to collect the money but refuses after Bo warns him that DEA agents are watching the locker. At Bo's cliffside home, Yayo threatens to inform on Bo if he is arrested with the cash; Bo shoots and kills Yayo. Bo is later visited by Mr. Escobar, a Colombian drug lord who turns out to be Yayo's uncle, who demands full repayment. Warming to Chili, Karen also wants to become a producer and arranges a meeting with Hollywood star Martin Weir, her ex-husband. Martin is intrigued by Chili's pitch and interested in playing Chili. Sensing that Harry is jealous of Chili and too stupid to realize he is being played, Bo offers him the locker money as a new investment, suggesting he send Chili to fetch it. Sensing a trap, Chili fakes out the DEA agents while confirming the presence of the money. He gets into a confrontation with Bo's enforcer, Bear, but the situation is defused when the two men start discussing Bear's former career as a
stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
. After being seduced by Doris, Harry drunkenly calls Bones, insults him, and asks for another investment; he also reveals that Chili has Leo's money. Bones flies to Los Angeles and brutally beats Harry. When Ronnie interrupts them, Bones shoots him dead and plants the gun on Harry. Bear has a change of heart about the plan to kill Chili, but Bo threatens him and his young daughter. Chili and Karen give in to their mutual attraction, and the next day take a badly injured Harry to a lunch meeting with Martin. Desperate to pay the Colombians, Bo resorts to kidnapping Karen and forcing Chili to give him Leo's money. Chili delivers the money, but Bo then orders Bear to beat him to death; during the fake scuffle, Bear maneuvers Bo into falling into a railing he had loosened earlier, thus making Bo's death look like an accident. Bones breaks into Chili's hotel room, and demands Leo's money at gunpoint. Chili tells him it is in the locker, and Bones walks into the DEA's trap. Sometime later, the production of ''Get Leo'' is underway. Chili and Karen are producing, and argue with Martin's agent about an upcoming project they feel he's too short for.


Cast

''Get Shorty'' also features an appearance from the real Ernest "Chili" Palmer, a Miami loan shark and mob-connected man who inspired the original character.


Soundtrack

The movie features an acid- and soul-jazz themed soundtrack with songs by Us3,
Morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...
, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Greyboy and Medeski Martin & Wood alongside original compositions by
John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...
. The soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award (1997 - Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television).


Production

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...
,
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...
and
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...
were offered the role of Chili Palmer but they all declined. Barry Sonnenfeld considered Samuel L. Jackson for the role of Bo Catlett.
Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...
and
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...
were considered for the role of Ronnie Wingate.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Get Shorty'' holds an approval rating of 88% based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With a perfect cast and a sly twist on the usual Hollywood gangster dynamic, ''Get Shorty'' delivers a sharp satire that doubles as an entertaining comedy-thriller in its own right." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade "B+" on scale of A+ to F. The film was entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. The film opened at number one in the domestic box office upon its release with $12.7 million. ''Get Shorty'' remained number one for three consecutive weeks before being overtaken by '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls''.


Accolades

For his role as Chili Palmer, John Travolta received the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...
. The film also received nominations for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award that has been awarded annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Eligibility Eligible films must be at least 70 minutes in ...
and the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Motion Picture is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film. It is the final award presented during the ceremon ...
.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Get Shorty (Film) 1995 films 1995 crime comedy films 1990s satirical films American crime comedy films American black comedy films American satirical films Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles Films based on works by Elmore Leonard Films based on American novels Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films produced by Danny DeVito Films set in casinos Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Miami Mafia comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Scott Frank 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language crime comedy films