Be Cool (2005)

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers (WGA):

Elmore Leonard (novel)
Peter Steinfeld (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 March 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Everyone is looking for the next big hit

Plot:

Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer (John Travolta) tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music exec (Uma Thurman) on the way.

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Widow | Music Business | Rapper | Bodyguard

Awards:

1 win & 10 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Dec. 12	8:00 PM	VH1
Sun. Dec. 13	2:00 PM	VH1

Cast

John Travolta	...	Chili Palmer
Uma Thurman	...	Edie Athens
Vince Vaughn	...	Raji
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Sin LaSalle
André Benjamin	...	Dabu
Steven Tyler	...	Himself
Robert Pastorelli	...	Joe Loop
Christina Milian	...	Linda Moon
Paul Adelstein	...	Hy Gordon
Debi Mazar	...	Marla
Gregory Alan Williams	...	Darryl (as GregAlan Williams)
Harvey Keitel	...	Nick Carr
Dwayne Johnson	...	Elliot Wilhelm (as The Rock)
Danny DeVito	...	Martin Weir
James Woods	...	Tommy Athens

Also Known As:

Tómalo con calma (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Be Cool (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
Be Cool (Greece) [el]
Be Cool (Italy) [it]
Be Cool (Finland) [fi]
Be Cool - O Outro Nome do Jogo (Brazil) [pt]
Be cool, Chili Palmer on tagasi! (Estonia) [et]
Csak lazán (Hungary) [hu]
Sakin ol (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Sois cool (Canada: French title) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18PL | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40804) | Iceland:14

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Even though the film clearly deviates from the novel, there were some moments in the film which serves as a nod to the source novel: 1) The burn-out photo that Tiffany has (later picked up by Chili) is a nod to the fact that in the novel, the Russians operate a one-hour photo shop instead of the pawn shop. 2) The confrontation between DubMDs and the Russians in Nick's office is a nod to the intended shoot-out between the two. In the novel, neither parties appear in the second half. 3) When Raji tries to setup Sin LaSalle against Nick, Raji deliberately spell Carr's last name as CAR. In the novel, Nick's full last name is Carcaterra.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Chili comes down stairs at Edie's house, Sin mistakenly quotes “Knockin on Heaven's Door”: "that cold black cloud is coming down ". The correct lyrics are "That long black cloud is coming down."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chili Palmer: I hate sequels.

Movie Connections:

References Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Soundtrack:

Beethoven's 9th

Good Movie

I went to a screening of Be Cool today and I have to say it was very entertaining. I haven't seen Get Shorty so I cant really compare the movie to anything but Vince Vaughn and The Rock were laugh out loud funny and Andre 3000 was very good in his first major role. Christina Milian was not really used to her potential as an actress but displayed her ability to sing very well. The other performances from the actors in the movie you would probably expect without any surprise. I still cant get over how funny The Rock was and am extremely pleased thats hes done so well for himself and hope he does more comedies. Overall, its a good movie that should not disappoint too many people.