Be Cool (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

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

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:

Elmore Leonard named Dwayne Johnson's character after real-life film critic and Detroit Institute of Arts film curator Elliot Wilhelm (the real Wilhelm makes an uncredited appearance early in the film as a patron at the Viper Room).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Raji is talking to Nick Carr his silver chain is repeatedly in/out of his shirt between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chili Palmer: I hate sequels.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silver Bells (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fantasy

meh...

I'm a fan of Get Shorty. This is the sequel for the movie that needed no sequel.

Chili is back but Rene Russo is gone without a peep. Unfortunately Chili's game was played out in the first movie and rather than find an interesting personal arc for him, they just have him stand around repeating lines from the first movie. It's pretty tepid. Travolta looks old here. It's like they move people around him because his bones are getting creaky. His pink lip gloss and the blue eye contacts are very weird. The 2nd bad role is Edie (played by Uma Thurman). She's a music producer, a role that requires her only to be the female Reuben Kincaid. ("Hey these kids have a great new sound.") In any scene she strikes the wrong pitch motivationally or emotionally or both. It's painful to watch. Despite it's plentiful problems, Be Cool gets better after a very unpromising start.

I certainly got my laughs out of it (Vince Vaughan running around on fire, Cedric the Entertainer, Ludicrous, the Rock, a t-shirt that says "widow" on it), but it offers no great memories after it's over. It's a helium-light love fest from the first frame. There's no one as pricelessly idiotic as Gene Hackman in the first movie. It's just about doing good in the world, for a couple of kids who deserve a chance (Beyonce & the Rock). Ho-hum. The first one wasn't preachy.

Working in (repeatedly) gags & lines from the first movie is annoying as is the dumb concession to the Rock's wrestling fans (he raises his eyebrow twice) as are the droll inside jokes: Steven Tyler saying "I'm not the kind of singer that make appearances in movies" ar ar.

The all-star spectacular line-up is part of the problem. The first movie wasn't burdened by "stars."

For a buck rental let's call it even.