BE COOL
Director: F.Gary Gray. Screenwriter: Peter Steinfeld. Based on the novel by: Elmore Leonard. Cast: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Robert Pastorelli, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Running time: 112 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG-13, for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references. An MGM Release
Just because a film like “Be Cool” makes disparaging remarks about being a sequel doesn’t mean it's safe from criticism. Based on the novel that was itself a follow-up to Elmore Leonard’s entertaining novel and 1995 film “Get Shorty,” the latest tale is familiar yet surprisingly dull.
Maybe it has to do with John Travolta’s uninspired performance as reformed gangster-turned-movie producer Chili Palmer. In “Get Shorty,” Travolta was making yet another comeback with “Pulp Fiction” and was practically oozing cool confidence alongside Gene Hackman, Rene Russo and Danny DeVito. With “Be Cool,” there’s some self-assurance but that’s because Travolta seems to know that he’s stinking rich and seems to lack any motivation that he had 10 years ago.
All the blame for “Be Cool” shouldn’t be directly aimed at Travolta. “Get Shorty” featured the stylish direction by Barry Sonnenfeld and a perfect screenplay by Scott Frank (“Out Of Sight”). This new film features director F. Gary Gray, who’s high point so far has been the decent “The Italian Job,” and a lousy script by Peter Steinfeld that features too many characters, jokes that bomb and musical interludes that brings the film to a screeching halt.
In “Be Cool,” Palmer is tired of being a movie producer and gets involved with the music business. He first tries to become the manager of R&B singer Linda Moon (Christina Milian) which doesn’t go over well with her current manager Raji (Vince Vaughn, dressing and acting all gangsta-like). Chili also tries to help out his friend Edie (Uma Thurman) as she tries to keep her recently deceased husband’s record label afloat but apparently owes money to a rap producer (Cedric the Entertainer, keeping it suburban).
There’s also some deal with a Russian mafia, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Raji’s boss (Harvey Keitel) but it seems that the screenplay tries to cram too much into the film’s 112 minutes. The story ends up being a mess and drags to a point questioning if the film needed this many characters (or annoying musical numbers).
The film has it bright spots and that’s with the minor characters. Vince Vaughn is hilarious despite the tired “white guy acting black” routine and Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000 of Outkast fame) shows off some comedic chops besides his musical talents. But the biggest reason why “Be Cool” is not entirely a movie to avoid is because of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who delivers a humorous performance as Raji’s gay bodyguard.
However, it’s pretty bad when the minor character outshine the leads. Thurman and Travolta ignite zero chemistry which is puzzling given that they were so good together in “Pulp Fiction.” Even their much-hyped dance scene together in “Be Cool” is rather boring and that’s especially when you use the music of the Black Eyed Peas.
If you feel that Vince Vaughn, Andre Benjamin and the Rock are worth the eight bucks to pay instead of John Travolta and Uma Thurman, then “Be Cool” is your choice of flick for the weekend. But if you want to see a film that can live up to “Get Shorty” then you better hold off until it comes out on DVD.
@@ (out of five)