Be Cool (Widescreen Edition)
by F. Gary Gray
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Actor: Cedric the Entertainer, Dwayne Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince VaughnDirector: F. Gary Gray
Brand: TRAVOLTA,JOHN
Producer: Andy Gose
Producer: Anson Downes
Producer: Danny DeVito
Producer: David Nicksay
Producer: Elmore Leonard
Writer: Elmore Leonard
Writer: Peter Steinfeld
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Russian (Original Language); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-07
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Be Cool (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: The Moose Hole - Don't 'Be Cool', Be Angry
Summary: 2 Stars
When will Hollywood see the error of its ways and at long last learn the lesson that they should attempt to capitalize, at least not too much, on the stupidity of the general movie-going public? Yes, it is more cost-efficient for the movie industry to develop upon successful franchises or potential franchise, churning out sequel after sequel as quickly and cheaply as possible, without having to further extend the production budget. If this means lowering the film's rating from an `R' to a `PG-13', reducing the script to a minimum level of intelligence and sophistication, and dumping leading actors and actresses then they'll do it for the bottom-line. Thankfully this is often only used as a last ditch effort by studios to make a little extra money on the side with a franchise they feel has the potential to make some money in the market but is not one that they feel they have to throw all their cards into to get it done properly. Unfortunately this is becoming more of a common oddity then in the past, which does not bode well for audiences.
The story once again follows Chili Palmer as he navigates his way through the world of organized crime, Hollywood movie moguls, and music industry competitors. Chili Palmer, once so enthusiastic and engaged with the then-budding film making business, has grown tired of making movies in Hollywood, in not maintaining the proper creative control of the product he had before. Now he wants to take the time to return to the music industry and after a music mogul friend is whacked during the middle of a lunch meeting to discuss a new script, he takes this opportunity to make a career change. Not only does he have to deal with his friend's widow wife now in charge of the independent record label and a young pop-star in training but also a music industry competitor desperately trying to get to her first, an Eminem-esque manager and his queer bodyguard with stars in his eyes, the Russian mafia, and gangster rappers with three-hundred thousand dollars owed to them by the record label. As they say, you never quite know who is attempting to kill you because in the music industry, it could be anyone. The genius of Get Shorty was the concept of the perfect stylized satire to the Hollywood film making business, which is in severe contrast to Be Cool, its long-delayed and vastly inferior sequel, that is truly nothing more then a trumped up gangster flick, not the classic kind, with the occasional medley for filler. One of the script's major flaws, and there were quite a few of them to choose from, was the lack of back-stories included with any of the film's supporting characters, most importantly that of Linda Moon. Any information that the audience receives about her, beyond the clichéd "dead father was a musician too" excuse, is minimal at best. There is no motivation, for either the audience to root for her or an understanding of the characters actions, in her attempting to make it within the music industry.
Here we have John Travlota in the same tried and true cool, collective character that has been so overdone, with fault falling largely on himself, in the course of the last decade or two which is quite difficult to watch such a sad state of affairs. Where is Quentin Tarantino when an old friend desperately needs him right now? Speaking of Tarantino, Uma Thurman went from Kill Bill to this? True, there are risks taken in the Hollywood business but does it necessarily have to be a suicidal one such as this? Not surprisingly, Vince Vaughn, along with The Rock, easily steal the show in the roles of Raji, Moon's white manager who talks and acts as if he were a black man ala Eminem, and Elliot Wilhelm, Raji's queer bodyguard with aspirations to become an actor, which is a real surprise for everyone in the audience (sarcasm intended). In spite of the fact that their characters and the jokes involving them get quite old by the time the credits begin rolling, the moments that do work are the saving grace of this picture from being an absolute waste of time and money. There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that Christina Milian is quite possibly a sweet girl and honestly has the true motivation to get involved in the motion picture industry as an actress, but history would prove otherwise. If past experience has taught us anything it is that singers should stick to what they do best, singing, while performers should remain with what they are best at, in particular cases this only has to be assumed and not true to fact, with no crisscrossing in between the two separate entities. Why did the screenwriters feel it was their prerogative to have James Woods' character killed off at the beginning of the movie? Did James actually read the script and secretly paid the writers to have him whacked off early enough in the feature that audiences would not recall him? For those who happen to be fans of the actor's respectable career in the movie industry this is an assumption that should be gladly accepted. And why is Danny DeVito features on the film's poster if he only has two, if not unnecessary or unexplained, appearances throughout the film's entire two hour time-length?
Moving on, let us get straight to the heart of the matter which is to discuss the rather insane amount of superfluous cameo appearances in this film. Anybody who is anybody, or perhaps more appropriately anyone who has the connections to spend a day shooting a quick scene in order to keep that limelight bulb flickering for a few years longer, makes an appearance in this disaster. Despite not speaking a single line of dialogue and appearing only briefly, quite possibly by accident, could Fred Durst's cameo have been timed more perfectly with the release of his sex tape? What a marketing genius! Beyond Steven Tyler, the rest of Aerosmith, most notably Joe Perry, cameo in this feature, and even when the material stinks and the dialogue given isn't worth the price of the paper it was written on, they are still the greatest rock band in the world. It would be stating the obvious to say that the Black Eyed Peas are a joke and can not sing worth a lick, but who would have thought that they were even worse when onscreen? Other appearances include Gene Simmons, Rhumba Bums, the Pussycat Dolls, Dub MDs, and Sergio Mendes. And who could forget, in case you missed her, Anna Nicole Smith's memorable kiss with Danny DeVito at the Lakers' game? Honestly, why is she even in this film to begin with? Does she not have a horrendous enough reputation that she need soil it further with a lousy film career, not involving the porn industry that is.
Overall, Be Cool itself may be the true reason as to why Chili Palmer is so vehement in his efforts to get out of the movie business. As he himself said in the film, it has become too commercialized, restrictive, controlling, lacking in proficiency ... the fact that this project got the go-ahead from studio executives proves that they either did not bother to read the script or failed to pick up the writers' hidden message. In any event, who needs satire or parodies when you have a film out there that is willing, intentionally or not, to make fun of itself at the expense of others? The question has to be asked as to how extensive of a production budget this feature had. Why? There's enough glaring product placement in this walking-talking train-wreck to make even Adam Sandler cry. It was once understandable for MGM Studios to do this sort of thing but did they not just get bought out by the Sony Corporation? The average movie-goer does not pay eight bucks per person, along with the ever escalating prices for popcorn and drinks, to have ten to twenty minutes worth of advertising thrown into their face only to have an entire feature film throw around corporate logos like they were out of style. Capitalism is a tremendous valuable endeavor but there comes a time when marketing tends to exceed its `natural' limits, and this may be one of those times where it has to be stopped. As was said before, Get Shorty was the pinnacle of Hollywood satires upon itself but those big-wig executives enacted their revenge with this monstrosity. Okay, perhaps it was not at the level of `Michael Moore'-esque conspiracy theories, but after witnessing such disasters as The Whole Ten Yards, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and Exorcist: The Beginning you have to wonder why studios would intentionally ruin viable stand-alone films. Sadly, Hollywood is Hell-bent on riding the sequel wagon for all its worth and it is going to take a lot more then a few duds that cost them practically nothing, possibly even gaining a profit thanks to product placement, to deter them.
Description of Be Cool (Widescreen Edition)
Starring an unbelievably hip all-star cast, including John Travolta, Uma Thurman, André 3000, Steven Tyler and The Rock, and bursting with the hottest music in the biz, Be Cool is the wildly hilarious tale about a gangster turned music mogul and what it takes to be number one with a bullet. When Chili Palmer (Travolta) decides to try his hand in the music industry, he romances thesultry widow (Thurman) of a recently whacked music exec, poaches a hot young singer (Christina Milian) from a rival label and discovers that the record industry is packin' a whole lot more than a tune!Be Cool takes its own advice: It's slick, Hollywood entertainment that kills two amusing hours with relative ease and comfort. Better than leftovers but not as tasty as a full-course meal, this sequel to 1995's hit comedy Get Shorty (and based on Elmore Leonard's 1999 sequel novel) finds former loan shark Chili Palmer (John Travolta) itching to get out of the movie business, so he hooks up with a newly widowed music executive (Uma Thurman) to launch the career of an up-'n-coming Beyoncé-like singer (newcomer Christina Milian). A mock-black manager (Vince Vaughn), his sleazy boss (Harvey Keitel), and an upscale gangsta-rap executive (Cedric the Entertainer) all have a competing stake in the fast-rising pop diva's future, and this sets the plot rolling in a fun but rather hand-me-down fashion that lacks the savvy panache of Get Shorty but still provides plenty of lightweight humor. The Rock and Outkast's André Benjamin provide the best laughs in supporting roles that effortlessly relieve the movie from the symptoms of sequelitis. --Jeff Shannon
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