Be Cool- DVD Review

Watching a sequel requires you to think about the original. Get Shorty was cool, quick, tough and smart. Be Cool is not.

The script, written by Peter Stienfeld, starts off well enough in its opening scene by poking fun at the idea of sequels with some good banter with John Travolta and James Woods. Although Travolta is back in the role of Chili Palmer, the problems start the moment Woods exits. That's when everything falls flat. Elmore Leonard, the author of Get Shorty, supposedly liked Travolta's performance in the first film so much that he wrote the follow-up novel, this tale of the shylock hero going from the film to the music industry because of it. Unfortunately, in relation to the success of the first film, Be Cool did not get the same Travolta. This Chili Palmer is overly manicured and something very weird is going on with his hair. Come to think of it, a documentary needs to be done about this. That alone would make for an interesting DVD extra.

Be Cool moves from point to point with no real path. This is a script with devices not storylines. It sports a huge cast with Danny Devito, Andre 3000, Vince Vaughn, Seth Green, The Rock, and Cedric the Entertainer, who all show up not for real characters, just for paychecks. Vaughn was supposed to be the central comic relief as a white man acting black, but even an actor as talented as Vaughn can't save a character that hasn't been written.

From what I gather, the movie is about Chili taking Linda Moon (Milian) under his wing and getting her a music contract. Chili first sees Moon at the Viper Room singing a cover of "Best of My Love". On so many levels this couldn't happen. Plus, Chili shouldn't be smoking in any California bar because it's against the law. It's just typical of the laziness of Steinfeld's script. Is that forgivable? If this wasn't a screenwriting website, perhaps.

Chili goes on to predictably discover that the music industry is full of gun-toting gangstas and Russian mobsters where every house is very easy to break into. By the end, I was hoping Chili wouldn't have found it so easy to get out of every situation. In layman's terms, that's called "conflict." The heart of the movie, the Thurman-Travolta relationship, rings false because Uma simply mails in her performance. There are two Uma's. The one that comes out when she's given a great character to work with (like in Kill Bill) and the one that mails it in when she's not (like in Paycheck). Unfortunately, Be Cool got the latter. And, in a predictable nod to Pulp Fiction, Thurman and Travolta dance. Not even that works.

Steinfeld and the entire creative team give us no heart, no drama, and sparse comedy. For a movie that should be about the music industry, it isn't. However, you do get to hear four full-length songs. But even that is the kiss of death for this movie, which slows the comedic timing of the script to near paralysis. And, when Steven Tyler of Aerosmith shows up you almost question why that band would be willing to be a part of this. Then you remember Aerosmith sold out to the music industry a long time ago to recoup their lost career and that is exactly what this movie is, a sell out.