Other Titles • Get Shorty • Schnappt Shorty (1996)
Synopses for Get Shorty (1995)
1.
Hailed by many critics as one of the best films of 1995, this finely tuned black comedy sparked a renewed interest in movies based on books by prolific crime novelist Elmore Leonard, whose trademark combination of tight plotting and sharp humor is perfectly captured here. After the success of Pulp Fiction, John Travolta continued his meteoric comeback as Chili Palmer, a Mob "mechanic" whose latest assignment takes him to Los Angeles, where his fascination with the movie business turns into a new career as a would-be movie producer. He pitches ideas with a sleazy producer (Gene Hackman) and a major star (Danny DeVito), and also finds time to deal with a vengeful Mobster (Dennis Farina) and assorted Hollywood types (including Renee Russo and Delroy Lindo) who all want their piece of a tempting show-biz pie. The plot unfolds with enticing precision, but it's really Elmore's snappy dialogue--and the performances that bring it to life--that make this one of the best comedies of the 1990s. --Jeff Shannon
(20 votes)
2.
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.
(20 votes)
3.
Hey, pssst! You ever hear the one about the guy who fakes his own death to dodge his debts? Well, loan shark Chili Palmer has. And in this "funny, cryptic and compelling winner" (Playboy), Chili not only tracks the guy down, but also uses him in a scheme that'll set the world on fire!
Here's how it goes down. Chili (John Travolta) squeezes Miami lowlifes for a living but dreams of making it in the movies. So when he comes to Hollywood, he attempts to schmooze filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) and B-movie queen Karen Flores (Rene Russo) into filming the story of his last "debt collection." Can this mobster-turned-mogul pull it off? If the tricks of the film trade are the same ones used in loansharking (i.e., intimidation, fear and deceit)...then, you bet!
(20 votes)
4.
Loanshark Chili Palmer (Travolta) has done his time as a gangster. So when "business" takes him to Los Angeles to collect a debt from down-and-out filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), Chili talks tough and then pitches Harry a script idea. Immediately, Chili is swept into the Hollywood scene: he schmoozes film star Martin Weir (DeVito), romances "B" movie queen Karen Flores (Rene Russo) and even gets reservations at the hottest restaurants in town. In fact, all would be smooth for this cool new producer, if it weren't for the drug smugglers and an angry mobster who won't leave him alone. But hey, this is Hollywood and no one said it would be easy!
(20 votes)
5.
John Travolta is the standout in this somewhat cartoonish adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel about a smalltime Miami enforcer (Travolta) who decides to get into the movie business in LA. The cast sparkles--Gene Hackman as a failing cut-rate-movie producer, Rene Russo as a failed actress, Danny DeVito as a vain thespian, Delroy Lindo as a mobster who wants a cut of Travolta's film action--and the script is clever. But not clever enough: this isn't Robert Altman's The Player, as far as satires about Hollywood go. But director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) keeps Get Shorty cute and brisk and that makes for an enjoyable experience. Travolta is great as a vaguely dangerous, supremely self-confident man whose love of movies makes him almost cuddly. --Tom Keogh
(20 votes)
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