Be Cool

Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Cedric the Entertainer, The Rock, Harvey Keitel, Vince Vaughn, Danny DeVito, Christina Milian, Andre Benjamin
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Chili Palmer (John Travolta) tries to break into the music business by partnering with the widow (Uma Thurman) of one of his record producing buddies. Chili believes he's found the next big sensation in a young singer (Christina Milian), however, Chili's plans are threatened by the singer's greedy manager (Vince Vaughn) and his powerful boss (Harvey Keitel).

Review:

Tim: This is a decent sequel to the hit Get Shorty, but a few problems prevent it from being very good. The cast, however, is excellent. Everyone gives terrific performances and interact well together. The film is also pretty funny- there are quite a few laugh-out loud moments. The whole movie just has a very "cool" feel to it.

The worst part of the film is that all the young, hip actors don't really connect with John Travolta. Next to them, he appears a bit tired and very, very old. He just doesn't seem to fit in with the cool young actors (although Travolta is incredibly cool in a getting-older sense).

Despite this, Travolta is still good as Chili Palmer. It's a great character and Travolta is excellent in playing him. The highlight of the film however, is The Rock. In a bold departure from his typical hardcore action heroes, he plays a gay bodyguard. The Rock milks it for all that it's worth and has the funniest moments of the film. It is simply a terrific performance. Uma Thurman, Cedric the Entertainer, and Harvey Keitel don't have too much to do, but provide decent support. Vince Vaughn is incredibly annoying and made me want to punch him in the face. The white guy who thinks he's black is a tired, tired concept.

Be Cool is a pretty stylish and very cool movie. It isn't without a few flaws that hurt the movie quite a bit. It is still entertaining, though.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Get Shorty, The Big Bounce, Out of Sight, Pulp Fiction