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Get Shorty
1995
This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), the maker of the stunning flops "Grotesque" and "Slime People." But this is Harry's lucky day, because Chili is .. Read more
| Starring | John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny De Vito |
|---|---|
| Director | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Genres | Comedy |
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Get Shorty
This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), the maker of the stunning flops "Grotesque" and "Slime People." But this is Harry's lucky day, because Chili is also a film buff, and when he's done talking tough he starts pitching Harry a script idea. As everyone knows, the best background for the motion picture industry is the criminal underworld, and Chili is smoothly launched into the life of a producer: romancing a B-movie scream queen, schmoozing superstars, getting reservations in the hottest restaurants in town. However, Chili's not the only mobster wanting to turn producer. It seems that a thug named Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), another of Harry's lenders, also wants a piece of the action. Add in a group of angry drug smugglers and there is an abundance of double- and triple-crosses, as well as plenty of wisecracks and Hollywood insider jokes. GET SHORTY crosses the line of life imitating art--and vice versa--many times, including the real Ernest "Chili" Palmer (on whom the character is based) playing a Mafia henchman. Barry Sonnenfeld's entertaining romp is a wild look at the celebrity life in Hollywood, featuring numerous cameos of stars playing themselves.
| Starring | John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny De Vito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, David Paymer, James Gandolfini |
|---|---|
| Director | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 41 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Language | English |
| Dubbed | French, German, Italian, Spanish |
| Hearing-impaired | English, German |
| Subtitles | Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Released | DVD: 01 Feb 2000 Production year: 1995 |
| Format | DVD |
Get Shorty (1995)
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Critics' reviews (6)
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This adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel explores the murky world of Hollywood's links to organised crime. John Travolta plays Florida gangster Chili Palmer, who arrives in Hollywood to collect a bad debt from sleazeball movie producer Gene Hackman and decides to stay, importing his strong-arm methods into movie production. Made in the wake of Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty was the first attempt by a major studio to cash in on Quentin Tarantino's style. The performances by the impressive cast are exquisite: the jowly Travolta has tremendous charm but also considerable menace; Danny DeVito plays a movie star to perfection; and Hackman is a sheer delight as the purveyor of schlocky monster movies. Add Rene Russo and unbilled cameos by Bette Midler and Harvey Keitel and you have a snazzy treat.
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"...Elmore Leonard's deliciously profane dialogue gives a great cast, led by John Travolta, a feast to dine upon....GET SHORTY gets it wonderfully right..."
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Most helpful member's review
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9 out of 9 people found this review helpful
A surprising classic
This film is based on the Elmore Leonard book of the same name. This is a hilarious satire of Hollywood. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a loan shark from Miami tracking down a deadbeat who has run off. Palmer's travels take him to Hollywood, where he meets Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman). Zimm is a producer of major motion pictures (read B horror flicks). His lover is Karen (Rene Russo). His meetings give Palmer the 'movie bug.'
Already a huge movie fan, Palmer decides to produce 'Mr. Lovejoy' a script that Zimm proclaims will be his 'Driving Miss Daisy.' The plot centres around efforts to raise the necessary money and land Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) in the lead role. Fortunately Weir is Karen's ex-husband. And Palmer has access to $300,000 generated from Las Vegas winnings of the missing deadbeat, Leo. As a further complication there is a drug dealer (Delroy Lindo) who has invested in one of Zimm's pictures. But he has gotten in trouble with his supplier for $500,000 and a missing nephew.
DeVito does a wonderful job playing the self-involved, pretentious Weir. There are wonderful comments about screenwriters. Spelling is optional, not necessary. The role of a screenwriter is just to put the commas in where they belong. Travolta is delightful as a 'nice guy' wise guy. In fact, the entire cast is just great.
The plot lines never overwhelm the film, and they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. (Note: Thanks to Pulp Fiction, studios are willing now to use non-linear plot lines on occasion.). The ending is terrific (watch for the cameo by Harvey Keitel). I saw this in the theatre and have seen it several times on video. This one is definitely a keeper. -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
This was great....
Brilliant. Clever, funny and eminently watchable.
Went straight into the list of my top ten films. No better way to spend a Sunday evening - well, not when you've got kids to stay in and look after.... -
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Get Shorty
This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), the maker of the stunning flops "Grotesque" and "Slime People." But this is Harry's ...
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