Taglines: Everyone is looking for the next big hit.
Streetwise mobster-turned-movie producer Chili Palmer is back, but this time Chili has abandoned the fickle movie industry and veered into the music business, tangling with Russian mobsters and gangsta rappers and taking a talented, feisty young singer named Linda Moon under his wing. From the recording studio to an Aerosmith concert to the MTV Music Awards, he manipulates events to watch them play out the Chili way, using his signature blend of wiseguy skills and negotiation tactics. It’s a dangerous business, and everyone’s looking for their next big hit.
Be Cool is a 2005 American crime-comedy film adapted from Elmore Leonard’s 1999 novel of the same name and the sequel to Leonard’s 1990 novel Get Shorty (itself adapted into a 1995 film of the same name) about mobster Chili Palmer’s entrance into the music industry.
The film adaptation of Be Cool began production in 2003. It was directed by F. Gary Gray, produced by Danny DeVito (who produced and co-starred in the first film), and starred John Travolta, reprising his role from the first film. The film opened in March 2005 and was released to video and DVD distribution on June 7, 2005. This was Robert Pastorelli’s final film, as he died one year before its theatrical release. On a production budget of $53 million, Be Cool grossed $56,046,979 in North American and $39,169,077 internationally, totaling up to $95,216,056 worldwide.
About the Story
Chili Palmer (John Travolta), restless after years of filmmaking, enters the music industry after witnessing the execution, by a Russian mob, of his friend Tommy Athens (James Woods), owner of a record company. Chili offers to help his friend’s widow, Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), manage the failing business, which owes $300,000 to hip-hop producer Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer).
Chili is impressed by singer Linda Moon (Christina Milian) and helps free her from contractual obligations to Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) and Raji (Vince Vaughn), who has a gay Samoan bodyguard named Elliott (The Rock), an aspiring actor and the butt of Carr and Raji’s homophobic jokes. Carr and Raji hire a hitman, Joe “Loop” Lupino (Robert Pastorelli) to kill Chili before he can save Edie’s company by arranging a live performance for Linda along with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith.
Lasalle demands payment of the $300,000, but agrees to give Chili a few days to get the money plus the vig. When the Russians attempt to kill Chili, Joe Loop mistakenly kills Ivan Argianiyev (George Fisher), the Russian Mob’s hitman. Carr is furious about the mistake. Raji then kills Loop with a metal baseball bat after Loop “disrespects” him.
Carr then tries to trick Chili by handing him a pawn ticket, claiming that Linda’s contract is being held at a pawn shop owned by the Russians. Edie gives the ticket to the police, who pay the Russians a visit. Raji and Elliott set up LaSalle by making him believe that Carr tricked Chili in giving him the $300,000 to get Linda’s contract. LaSalle and the DubMD confront Carr in his office, as do Bulkin and his men. Insulted by Bulkin’s racist remarks, LaSalle kills him.
Raji sends Elliott to kill Chili. By assuring Elliott that he can help his acting career, Chili befriends him. After learning that Chili had gotten him an audition for a Nicole Kidman film, Elliott turns on Raji, who had erased the message on his answering machine. For all his smooth talking and flamboyant wardrobe, Raji finds himself in a firework conflagration which roasts him live on camera. Carr is arrested on murder charges when Chili makes sure he is caught with the bat used to kill Joe Loop.
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Be Cool (2005)
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Dwayne Johnson, Danny DeVito, Cedric the Entertainer, Vihce Vaughn, Christina Milian, Debi Mazar, Gregory Alan Williams, Harvey Keitel
Screenplay by: Peter Steinfeld
Production Design by: Michael Corenblith
Cinematography by: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Film Editing by: Sheldon Kahn
Costume Design by: Mark Bridges, Betsy Heimann
Set Decoration by: Denise Pizzini
Art Direction by: Lauren E. Polizzi, Dan Webster
Music by: John Powell
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references.
Distributed by: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Release Date: March 4, 2005
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