Be Cool

Last updated

Be Cool
Becool poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by F. Gary Gray
Screenplay by Peter Steinfeld
Based onBe Cool
by Elmore Leonard
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by Sheldon Kahn
Music by John Powell
Production
companies
Distributed by MGM Distribution Co. (United States)
20th Century Fox (International) [1]
Release date
  • March 4, 2005 (2005-03-04)
Running time
120 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$53–75 million [2] [3]
Box office$95.8 million [2]

Be Cool is a 2005 American crime comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel of the same name, which was the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel Get Shorty . The movie is the sequel to the 1995 film adaptation of Get Shorty, and the second installment overall in the Get Shorty franchise. The plot follows mobster Chili Palmer's entrance into the music industry. This was Robert Pastorelli's final film in addition to Anna Nicole Smith's final feature film as Pastorelli died one year before its theatrical release.

Contents

The film adaptation of Be Cool began production in 2004. 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. It also marked the second collaboration between Travolta and Vince Vaughn after starring in 2001's Domestic Disturbance . The film was released on March 4, 2005. It received negative reviews and grossed $95 million against a budget of $53–75 million. It stars an ensemble cast of John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Robert Pastorelli, Christina Milian, Steven Tyler, Dwayne Johnson, and Harvey Keitel, and Danny DeVito.

Plot

Ernesto "Chili" Palmer, restless and disenchanted with filmmaking, enters the music industry after witnessing the Russian mob publicly whack his friend Tommy Athens, owner of a small, independent record label. Chili offers to help Tommy's widow, Edie Athens, manage the failing business, which owes $300,000 to hip-hop producer Sin LaSalle.

Chili is impressed by small-time club singer Linda Moon and helps free her from contractual obligations to crooked producers Nick Carr and Raji, who has a gay Samoan bodyguard named Elliot, an aspiring actor and the butt of Carr and Raji's homophobic jokes. Carr and Raji pay hitman Joe "Loop" Lupino to kill Chili before he can save Edie's company by arranging a live performance for Linda accompanied by 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 mob enforcer Ivan Argianiyev. Carr is furious about the mistake and demands that Raji talks to Loop at once. Raji then beats Loop to death with a metal baseball bat after Loop "disrespects" him.

Carr then tries to trick Chili by handing him a pawn ticket, claiming that the only copy of Linda's contract is at a pawn shop owned by the Russians. Chili, being much smarter than Carr anticipated, has Edie tip off the FBI and starts a fight to get the shop raided. Raji and Elliot then set up LaSalle by making him believe that Carr tricked Chili into giving him the $300,000 to get Linda's contract. LaSalle and his bodyguards, rap group DubMD, confront Carr in his office, as does the Russian boss, Bulkin, and his men. Insulted by Bulkin's racist remarks, LaSalle personally murders him on impulse.

Chili squeezes in a dance scene with Edie, celebrating as Linda Moon gets to make her appearance and becomes an instant success. He also manages to placate LaSalle by agreeing that he will produce Linda's next album and get a share of the profits.

Carr is enraged upon hearing of the deal, so he and Raji order Elliot to kill Chili. By assuring Elliot that he can help his acting career, Chili befriends him. After learning that Chili had gotten him an audition for a Nicole Kidman film, Elliot turns on Raji, who had erased the message on his answering machine. For all his smooth talking and flamboyant wardrobe, Raji is burned to death on camera by a fireworks explosion. Carr is arrested on murder charges when Chili makes sure he is caught with the bat used to kill Joe Loop, via another pawn ticket.

At the MTV Video Music Awards, Linda wins the awards for best new artist and video of the year. During her acceptance speech, she thanks Edie, Sin and Chili. Edie and Chili leave the award ceremony. As Chili drives off, he passes a billboard revealing that Elliot is the co-star of a new movie with Kidman.

Cast

Cameos

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released on March 1, 2005.

No.TitleLength
1."Fantasy" (Earth, Wind & Fire)3:46
2."Hollywood Swinging" (Kool & the Gang)3:26
3."Be Thankful for What You Got" (William DeVaughn)5:45
4."Roda" (Elis Regina)2:35
5."Sexy" (The Black Eyed Peas)4:44
6."Suga Suga (Reggae Remix)" (Baby Bash)4:10
7."The Boss" (James Brown)3:12
8."Ain't No Reason" (Christina Milian)3:12
9."Believer" (Christina Milian)3:14
10."Brand New Old Skool" (777)4:34
11."G's and Soldiers" (Planet Asia featuring Kurupt)4:12
12."Cool Chill (Instrumental)" (John Powell)3:56
13."A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done" (Sonny & Cher)3:15
14."You Ain't Woman Enough" (Loretta Lynn, performed by The Rock in the film)3:31

Songs featured in the film but not included on the soundtrack are:

Release

Box office

On a production budget of $53–75 million, Be Cool grossed $56 million in North America and $39.2 million internationally, totaling up to $95.2 million worldwide. [2] [3]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 30% based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Be Cool is tepid, square, and lukewarm; as a parody of the music business, it has two left feet." [4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. [6]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "A classic species of bore: a self-referential movie with no self to refer to. One character after another, one scene after another, one cute line of dialogue after another, refers to another movie, a similar character, a contrasting image, or whatever." [7] Halliwell called it "a palpable miss, a movie so lazy and laid back that it falls over; there are none of those insights ... that made Get Shorty so enjoyable". [8]

In an August 2015 interview with Deadline , director F. Gary Gray discussed the failure of the film, stating: "With Be Cool, I made some assumptions in thinking that movie was going to work. I'd just made a successful PG-13 movie [ The Italian Job ], and when I walked into Be Cool, it was rated R and then at the last minute in preproduction I was told, 'Well, you have to make this PG-13.' I should have walked off the film. This was a movie about shylocks and gangsta rappers and if you can't make that world edgy, you probably shouldn't do it. I walked in thinking I was going to make one movie and then it changed. Maybe it was arrogant of me to think because I had success in this realm of PG-13 I could make that work." [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pulp Fiction</i> 1994 crime film by Quentin Tarantino

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary. It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence in Los Angeles, California. The film stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman. The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Travolta</span> American actor (born 1954)

John Joseph Travolta is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award.

<i>Saturday Night Fever</i> 1977 American dance drama film by John Badham

Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man who spends his weekends dancing and drinking at a local discothèque while dealing with social tensions and disillusionment in his working class ethnic neighborhood in Brooklyn. The story is based on "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night", a mostly fictional 1976 article by music writer Nik Cohn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerosmith</span> American rock band

Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums), and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has also incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. Aerosmith is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". The primary songwriting team of Tyler and Perry is sometimes referred to as the "Toxic Twins".

<i>Grease 2</i> 1982 film by Patricia Birch

Grease 2 is a 1982 American musical romantic comedy film and the sequel to the 1978 film Grease, adapted from the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Originally titled More Grease, the film was produced by Allan Carr and Robert Stigwood, and directed and choreographed by Patricia Birch, who choreographed the original stage production and prior film. The plot returns to Rydell High School two years after the original film's graduation, with a largely new cast, led by Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer in her first starring role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmore Leonard</span> American novelist and screenwriter (1925–2013)

Elmore John Leonard Jr. was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures. Among his best-known works are Hombre, Swag, City Primeval, LaBrava, Glitz, Freaky Deaky, Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight and Tishomingo Blues.

<i>Peter Gunn</i> American private eye television series created by Blake Edwards

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and by ABC in 1960–61. The series was created by Blake Edwards, who, on occasion, was also writer and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Milian</span> American actress and singer (born 1981)

Christina Milian is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Def Soul at the age of 19. In 2001, Milian released her self-titled debut album, which featured the singles "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me"; the former charted within the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and both peaked in the top three on the UK Singles Chart. In 2002, she performed the theme song "Call Me, Beep Me!", for Disney Channel's animated series Kim Possible. In 2004, Milian released her second studio album It's About Time, which provided her first major U.S. hit, "Dip It Low", which reached number five on the U.S. Billboard chart. "Whatever U Want" was released as the album's second single. Both singles charted within the Top 10 of the UK chart.

<i>Behind the Music</i> Television series

Behind the Music is a documentary television series that initially aired on VH1 and streams on Paramount+ since July 2021. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group, examining career beginnings, roads to success and any resultant hardships.

<i>200 Cigarettes</i> 1999 film by Risa Bramon Garcia

200 Cigarettes is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Risa Bramon Garcia and written by Shana Larsen. The film follows multiple characters in New York City on New Year's Eve 1981. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of brothers Ben and Casey Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Díaz, Angela Featherstone, Janeane Garofalo, Gaby Hoffmann, Kate Hudson, Courtney Love, Jay Mohr, Nicole Ari Parker, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci and Paul Rudd, with a cameo by Elvis Costello, as well as paintings by Sally Davies.

<i>Its Pat</i> 1994 American film

It's Pat is a 1994 American slapstick comedy film directed by Adam Bernstein and starring Julia Sweeney, Dave Foley, Charles Rocket, and Kathy Griffin. The film was based on the Saturday Night Live (SNL) character Pat, created by Sweeney, an androgynous misfit whose gender is never revealed. Dave Foley plays Pat's partner Chris, and Charles Rocket, another SNL alumnus, plays Pat's neighbor Kyle.

<i>Christina Milian</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Christina Milian

Christina Milian is the self-titled debut studio album by American singer Christina Milian. It was released on October 9, 2001, outside the United States, by Def Soul. Its American release was shelved due to the September 11 attacks, which occurred two weeks before its intended release date of September 25, 2001. The album was not released in the US until August 2020 when it was made available for digital download and streaming by Island Records.

<i>Get Real</i> (film) 1998 British film

Get Real is a 1998 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Simon Shore, based on the play What's Wrong with Angry? by screenwriter Patrick Wilde. The plot centres the coming of age of a gay teen while growing up in rural Britain during the Cool Britannia era of the late 1990s. The film was shot and set in and around Basingstoke, England. Get Real has since become a cult classic among fans of queer cinema.

<i>Love Dont Cost a Thing</i> (film) 2003 American film

Love Don't Cost a Thing is a 2003 American teen comedy film written and directed by Troy Beyer and starring Nick Cannon and Christina Milian. It also stars Steve Harvey, Kenan Thompson, and Kal Penn. The film is a remake of the 1987 film Can't Buy Me Love and takes on its title from the Jennifer Lopez song of the same name. The remake was not produced by Disney.

<i>So Amazin</i> 2006 studio album by Christina Milian

So Amazin' is the third album by American singer Christina Milian. The album, her first studio release since 2004's It's About Time, was released by Island Records on April 19, 2006, in Japan, on May 8 in Europe, and on May 16 in the United States. Unlike previous records, which had contributions from many producers, Milian wrote and produced So Amazin' primarily with hip hop producers Cool & Dre. During production, Milian was mentored by L.A. Reid and executive producer Jay-Z of Def Jam Recordings.

<i>Get Shorty</i> (film) 1995 comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

Get Shorty is a 1995 American gangster comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Scott Frank, based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. The film stars John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini, Dennis Farina, and Danny DeVito. It follows Chili Palmer (Travolta), a Miami mobster and loan shark who inadvertently gets involved in Hollywood feature film production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerosmith videography</span>

American rock band Aerosmith has released nine video albums and thirty-six music videos. The band and its music have also appeared in numerous films and soundtracks, and have inspired three video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Applegate</span> American actress (born 1971)

Christina Applegate is an American actress. After appearing in several roles since early childhood, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the comedy sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film and television career in her adult years, winning a Primetime Emmy Award as well as gaining nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Belford</span> American actress

Christine Belford is an American former television and film actress. She has sometimes been credited as Christina Belford.

<i>Get Shorty</i> (franchise) Film franchise article

The Get Shorty franchise consists of American gangster-comedies, including two theatrical films and a television series spin-off. Based on the titular novel by Elmore Leonard, the plot of the installments center around individuals within the criminal mafia organization, who are determined to leave the organization and pursue careers in the film and music industries. Featuring an cast ensemble, the story includes the realities of immoral conduct within various industries through the comedic lens.

References

  1. 1 2 "BE COOL (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . February 18, 2005. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Be Cool (2005)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Be Cool (2005) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  4. Be Cool at Rotten Tomatoes
  5. Be Cool at Metacritic OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  6. "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Be Cool" in the search box). CinemaScore . Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  7. Ebert, Roger (March 3, 2005). "Warmed-over Chili not cool". Chicago Sun-Times . RogerEbert.com.
  8. "Halliwell's Film Guide" ISBN   0-00-723470-8
  9. Mike Fleming (August 14, 2015). "F. Gary Gray Q&A: The Hard Life Lessons That Led To 'Straight Outta Compton'". Deadline Hollywood.