What Do The Critics Say?

"Travolta and an insanely gifted ensemble cast take an average sequel "Be Cool," and turn it one of the year’s best comedies." Jeffrey Lyles GAZETTE "Twinkle, Twinkle, Baby! The Rock and Vince Vaughn's performance is worth the price of a matinee admission alone." Michelle Alexandria ECLIPSE MAGAZINE "Probably the crummiest movie I’ve enjoyed in quite some time..." Sean Burns PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY "Travolta is the epitome of cool" Jackie K Cooper JACKIEKCOOPER.COM "No one should go to Be Cool expecting much depth... The fun of this film is in watching the individual components." Michael Elliott MOVIE PARABLES

"Transgressions can be overlooked thanks to cast members so cool they make the title feel like a mantra." Tyler Hanley PALO ALTO WEEKLY "Sequels rarely emerge as anything interesting, much less compelling. This one does. ... Warmed-over Chili is a gas." Larry Ratliff SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS "It's still jolly, goofy fun." Gene Seymour NEWSDAY "No, Be Cool is not as good as Get Shorty, but it is funny and fun to watch." Scott Nash THREE MOVIE BUFFS "May not be the swiftest piece of cinema out there, but when it has its moments with The Rock, they absolutely kill." Kim Morgan REEL.COM

The Inside Story

"Really shouldn't work, but it's smarter than it looks, handles itself assuredly, and does manage to be funny." Jeffrey Chen WINDOW TO THE MOVIES

There's no doubt that "Be Cool", the followup to the iconic "Get Shorty", is one of those films that you'll either love or loath. Cinemagoers who can remember "Get Shorty" will probably make the obligatory comparisons between the two, but in reality it means little, as the films really are worlds apart. Those who do find "Be Cool" good fare will love the characters, its inane humour, the black gangsta's themes, zany Russian mobsters, the music, the glossy Hollywood setting and the [at most times] witty comical dialogue. But most of all they'll love it for these facts; 1) John Travolta is 'so cool'; 2) 'The Rock' just about steals the show and 3); Cedric the Entertainer is just that. A real entertainer. "Be Cool" is not the first Elmore Leonard novel to make it to the big screen. Over a period of nearly 50 years of involvement with both the film and television industries, his list of work is impressive. The soon to be 80 year old writer [born 11/10/25] has seen his works "The Big Bounce" [1969 & 2004], "Joe Kidd" [1979], "The Rosary Murders" [1987], "Get Shorty" [1995], "Jackie Brown" [1997] and "Out of Sight" [1998] all adapted for the big screen. Director F Gary Gray says he "signed on to helm the picture partly because he's such a big fan of two other films made from Leonard's novels: "Get Shorty" and "Out of Sight". Gray said he "loves the world Leonard creates and how the attention paid to detail in his books translates so well to film." Writing sequel for the smash hit "Get Shorty" wasn't a walk in the park according to the acclaimed novelist. Surprisingly he admits that, "It took a while to feel confident he could write a sequel to Get Shorty. But when I thought about it, and about John Travolta as Chili Palmer because he was so good in Get Shorty, it wasn't difficult to see him in the role again. I also had firmly in my mind that it was a sequel", he explained adding, "and a sequel has to be better than the original, so I had to think of another idea and another arena in which to set the story. I thought Chili, still in the motion picture business, would now be looking for something fresh. I decided he could find his way into the music business, and suddenly there was so much good material, perhaps because it's a rougher business than the movies and there are many more scoundrels in it." Screen writer Peter Steinfeld has done a fine job, adpating the novel for the screen. Steinfeld says "he first heard of Be Cool from his wife and agent. I read the book in about three hours and I flipped over it. Then I had to go to Jersey Films and pitch myself to producers Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher." Having got the job, he now faced the task of adapting the authors work. "Adapting Leonard is sort of a blessing and a curse," says Steinfeld, "because his writing is so cinematic and tight. He's like the Shakespeare of crime fiction. He cuts right to the heart of a situation." Having complete the script the next thing was to see what the author thought of his work. "The most terrifying thing was sending him the first draft of the script, but when the phone rang, he said, 'Peter, this is Elmore Leonard.' I said, 'Mr. Leonard, how are you? It's a pleasure to talk to you.' And he said, 'I loved it, loved the script.' He was so supportive." And Leonard really did mean it. His publicist revealling "Peter took it to a whole new level, much like Scott Frank did with Get Shorty," says Gregg Sutter. "Elmore had confidence in Peter because the basic road map of Be Cool was followed, the dialogue and the spirit of it, but there was so much Peter was able to expand upon." F Gary Gray was impressed by Elmore Leonard's novel and Steinfeld's screenplay. "When I heard about "Be Cool" and learned it was written by Elmore, I immediately thought, 'This has to be funny. I have to read it,'" he said. "And when I read Peter Steinfeld's screenplay, I thought it was amazingly funny." One actor who has always impressed me [even back in the days of ] is actor John Travolta who is so 'cool' as Chili Palmer. But after a break of ten years, how did he handle the role. "The first day of shooting, John stepped on the set and instantly became Chili Palmer," says F Gary Gray. "That's what I love about him. He's extremely prepared. He totally understands his character. I wasn't sure after ten years how long it would take John to jump back into it, but it clicked immediately. That's why he's a brilliant actor. Even though I know how difficult it is to create such an indelible character, he makes it look easy. He's a perfect Chili Palmer, and he does an amazing job." So what does the man himself, John Travolta think of his character, which I might say, fits like a glove. "I think it is one of many wonderful roles of a lifetime, and it was fun to experience what Chili does in the music industry in a whole new unit of time. The challenge in "Be Cool" was how Chili would respond to the his new environment, he's actually more comfortable because there are more gangsters in the music business than the film industry," he said with a laugh. "Chili always takes advantage of an opportunity," he continued, "giving two things consideration: is it appropriate to take advantage, and is it fair and just? He's just clever that way. Chili never really worries about anything. He's a created character that's based on confidence, and even if he's not particular confident in a certain instance, you'd never know it. He's always analyzing how to get in and out of situations in a very cool way." Travolta's leading lady in "Be Cool" is that delicious blonde actress, the highly accomplished, wronged bride from "Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2", Uma Thurman who gets Chili on the dance floor again. It's a very slick, sexy segment choreographed to the Black Eyed Peas performing "Sexy". There's certainly a lot of chemistry here. When it came to doing a dance segment, Travolta recalls he saying "it would have to be something Chili would feel good about dancing to. Chili would dance to something with a Brazilian sound or a Latin rhythm or something like that. He'd probably do a fox trot, the cha-cha, a samba, a mambo; something with which he could keep his Frank Sinatra-era, low-key, New York-style cool. The Black Eyed Peas had just done a brilliant rap version of a Joabim song from 1962 called 'Sexy,' and it's exactly what I would have wanted to dance to." Young actress Christina Milian appears to have finally made a breakthrough with the role of Linda Moon and performs extremely well in the film. Travolta was impressed noting, "Christina is truly gifted, not only as a singer and performer but she's also got acting chops. She's a natural; Christina has it all. I'm very, very proud of her in this movie." There's so much in "Be Cool" to enjoy including a screamer of a performance from The Rock who quicly admits he really wanted the role of . "Opportunities like this are rare, to get all of these extraordinary actors who I respect and admire together in one film. We had so much fun on the set. I get to poke fun at myself and play with people's notion of who I am. Because I am who I am, it's like, 'The Rock playing gay, really?' Why not? We're all created equal, and there are many kinds of people in this world. A good actor can play all kinds of people, and I really loved it." Another actor who admits to having a lot of fun is Cedric the Entertainer who adds, "You don't have to tell this movie to be cool. It is cool. I had a lot of fun with this role." Let's hope audiences do too. Crew Bytes "BE COOL" was .......
directed by F Gary Gray ["Friday", "The Negotiator ", "A Man Apart" and "The Italian Job"]; screenplay by Peter Steinfeld ["Drowning Mona" and "Analyze That"]; Adapted from the novel "Be Cool" by Elmore Leonard ["52 Pick-Up", "Get Shorty", "Out of Sight" and "The Big Bounce"]; costume design by Mark Bridges ["Boogie Nights", "Blow", "Punch-Drunk Love" and "The Italian Job"]; production design by Michael Corenblith ["The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag", "Ransom", "Mighty Joe Young" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"]; edited by Sheldon Kahn ["Ghost Busters I & II", "Twins", "Dave", "Road Trip" and "Evolution"]; cinematography by Jeffrey L Kimball ["Top Gun", "Top Gun", "Mission: Impossible II", "Windtalkers" and "The Big Bounce"]; original music by John Powell ["Rat Race", "The Bourne Identity", "The Italian Job", "The Bourne Supremacy" and "Robots"] produced by Danny DeVito ["Pulp Fiction", "Get Shorty", "Gattaca", "Out Of Sight", "Camp" and "Garden State"]; David Nicksay ["Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", "The Negotiator", "Agent Cody Banks I & II" and "Legally Blonde I & II"]; Michael Shamberg ["The Big Chill", "A Fish Called Wanda", "Pulp Fiction", "Fierce Creatures" and "Ghost World"] and Stacey Sher ["Pulp Fiction", "Get Shorty", "Gattaca", "Camp", "Along Came Polly" and "Garden State"]. Casting About "BE COOL" stars .......
John Travolta ["Look Who's Talking I, II & III", "Face/Off", "The General's Daughter", "Basic", "The Punisher" and "Ladder 49"]; Uma Thurman ["The Truth About Cats & Dogs". "Gattaca", "The Golden Bowl", "Tape" and "Kill Bill I & II"]; Vince Vaughn ["Made","Zoolander", "Starsky & Hutch", "Dodgeball" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"]; Cedric the Entertainer ["Big Momma's House", "Barbershop", "Serving Sara", "Intolerable Cruelty" and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"]; André Benjamin ["Hollywood Homicide"]; Robert Pastorelli ["Dances With Wolves", "Eraser", "Heist" and "Bait"]; James Woods ["The General's Daughter", "Riding In Cars With Boys", "John Q" and "This Girl's Life"]; Harvey Keitel ["Cop Land", "U-571", "Red Dragon", "Dreaming of Julia" and "National Treasure"]; The Rock ["The Mummy Returns", "The Scorpion King", "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Walking Tall"]; Danny DeVito ["Twins", "Junior", "Drowning Mona", "Death To Smoochy" and "Big Fish"] and Christina Milian ["Durango Kids", "American Pie", "The Wood" and "Torque"] as Linda Moon. What It's All About

"The laughs come often and the massive cast has brought its best." Joshua Tyler CINEMABLEND.COM

Chili Palmer is contemplating a career change. He wants to get out of the movie industry and into the music industry. His break comes when his good friend and NTL record label owner Tommy Athens is gunned down by a Russian hitman. Chili finds himself embroiled in a battle with his old friend Nick Carr and his producing partner Raji when Chili visits the Viper nightclub and takes over the contract they hold on a singer named Linda Moon. Chili seeks out Tommys widow Edie who reveals that NTL Records, the business she and Tommy built, is in debt to the tune of $300,000. Determined to promote Linda Moon, Chili runs fouls of Russian mobsters, Nick, Raji, the LAPD and a rival producer Sin LaSalle who wants his $300,000. Life gets even more dangerous for Chili when Raji calls in hitman Joe Loop to take him out of the game. The Verdict "Be cool and see "Be Cool". The cast are a joy to watch, the dialogue is very clever and there's action galore. It's all done with great style and class. The surprise hit of the show is 'The Rock'. Pearler performances by Travolta, Vince Vaugn and Uma Thurman makes this a delightful experience. Recommended to those who love watching a big cast have fun." The Cast

John Travolta Uma Thurman Vince Vaughn Cedric the Entertainer André Benjamin Robert Pastorelli Christina Milian Paul Adelstein Debi Mazar GregAlan Williams Harvey Keitel The Rock Danny DeVito James Woods Anthony J Ribustello Steve Maye Alex Kubik Darren Carter Carol Duboc Minae Noji Arielle Kebbel Kimberly J Brown Jordan Moseley Margaret Travolta Scott Adsit Brian Christensen Nick Loren Craig Susser George Fisher Frank Lloyd Sahar Simmons Serdar Kalsin

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Chili Palmer Edie Athens Raji Sin LaSalle Dabu Joe Loop Linda Moon Hy Gordon Marla Darryl Nick Carr Elliot Wilhelm Martin Weir Tommy Athens Fast Freddie Steve Roman Bulkin Glenn Pumpkin Miss Bangkok Robin Tiffany Deshawn Marge Program Director Hairy Russian Assistant Director Assistant Director Ivan A & R Guy Sin LaSalle's Wife Bearded Russian

The Crew Directed by F Gary Gray Adapted from the novel "Be Cool" by Elmore Leonard Screenplay by Peter Steinfeld Produced by Danny DeVito/David Nicksay/Michael Shamberg/Stacey Sher Original Music by John Powell Cinematography by Jeffrey L Kimball Film Editing by Sheldon Kahn Casting by Sheila Jaffe & Georgianne Walken Production Design by Michael Corenblith Art Direction by Lauren E Polizzi & Dan Webster Set Decoration by Denise Pizzini Costume Design by Mark Bridges Run Time 119 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - MGM - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved