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When one of the guys who owes him money skips town, loan shark Chili Palmer
(John Travolta) leaves Miami and follows him to Vegas. In Vegas, a casino boss directs
Chili to Hollywood—and to an even bigger deadbeat, horror film producer Harry Zimm (Gene
Hackman). When Chili hunts down Zimm, he finds himself in the middle of Hollywood
politics—and he discovers that the movie business isn’t all that different from his own
business—so he decides to stick around and give the movie thing a
shot.
Zimm’s latest horror film has been put on hold while he tries to get
himself a bigger, better movie—one that will finally make him a legitimate force in
Hollywood. But he’s got investors demanding to know what happened to their money, and he
still doesn’t have enough to buy the script that he really wants. Meanwhile, the success
of the whole project revolves around the involvement of flaky mega-star Martin Weir
(Danny DeVito). So Chili takes over—keeping the investors at bay while enlisting the
help of Weir’s ex, Karen Flores (Rene Russo), to get Weir on board.
Get
Shorty has the same mobster-smooth feel as Travolta’s 1994 hit Pulp
Fiction—but it’s more linear and less gruesome. Chili Palmer is the James Bond
of organized crime—without the gadgets and gizmos but with every bit of calm, cool
style—and Travolta plays the role perfectly, as though it were written just for him. He
definitely makes the movie worth seeing with his cool wit and effortless flair.
If you haven’t already seen Get Shorty, it should definitely be on
your list of movies to see. It’s cool and funny and cleverly written. And if you’ve
already seen it and enjoyed it, I also recommend another Rene Russo film by director
Barry Sonnenfeld (one with a similar style—though it weighs a bit heavier on the comedy
side), Big
Trouble.
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