GET SHORTY
Cast:
John Travolta
Gene Hackman
Rene Russo
Danny DeVito
Delroy Lindo
This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a
Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer
Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), the maker of the stunning flops "Grotesque" and "Slime People."
But this is Harry's lucky day, because Chili is also a film buff, and when he’s done talking tough
he starts pitching Harry a script idea. As everyone knows, the best background for the motion
picture industry is the criminal underworld, and Chili is smoothly launched into the life of a
producer: romancing a B-movie scream queen, schmoozing superstars, getting reservations in the
hottest restaurants in town. However, Chili's not the only mobster wanting to turn producer. It
seems that a thug named Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), another of Harry's lenders, also wants a piece
of the action. Add in a group of angry drug smugglers and there is an abundance of double- and
triple-crosses, as well as plenty of wisecracks and Hollywood insider jokes. Get Shorty
crosses the line of life imitating art--and vice versa--many times, including the real Ernest "Chili"
Palmer (on whom the character is based) playing a Mafia henchman. Barry Sonnenfeld's
entertaining romp is a wild look at the celebrity life in Hollywood, featuring numerous cameos of
stars playing themselves.
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld - Rated R
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