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Get Shorty (film)

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Get Shorty
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay byScott Frank
Based onGet Shorty
by Elmore Leonard
Produced byDanny DeVito
Michael Shamberg
Stacey Sher
Starring
CinematographyDonald Peterman[1]
Edited byJim Miller
Music byJohn Lurie
Production
companies
Distributed byMGM/UA Distribution Co.
Release date
  • October 20, 1995 (1995-10-20)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[2]
Box office$115.1 million[3]

Get Shorty is a 1995 American gangster comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Scott Frank, based on Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel.[4] 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.

The film's successes launched its titular franchise, including a sequel titled Be Cool (2005), and a television series which debuted in 2017.

Plot

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Ernesto "Chili" Palmer is a Miami-based loan shark and movie buff. When his leather jacket is taken by rival mobster Ray "Bones" Barboni, Chili retrieves it and breaks Bones' nose. Bones ambushes him at his office, but Chili shoots first, grazing Bones' forehead. Bones' boss refuses to retaliate, reminding him that Chili is under the protection of Brooklyn mob boss Momo.

After Momo dies of a heart attack, Bones takes over his operation and demands that Chili collect an outstanding debt from Leo Devoe, a dry cleaner who died in a plane crash. Chili learns from Leo's wife Faye that her husband is alive, having left the plane before takeoff; she received a settlement of $300,000, but Leo ran away with the cash. Chili tracks Leo to a Las Vegas casino and accepts an additional job to collect a large gambling debt from B movie director Harry Zimm.

Surprising Harry in Los Angeles at the home of scream queen Karen Flores, Chili pitches him his real-life chasing of Leo's debt as an idea for a movie. Harry persuades Chili to help him placate his investors Bo Catlett and Ronnie Wingate, who use their limo service as a drug front. Having gambled away the pair's $200,000 investment, Harry shows him the script he really wants to make, Mr. Lovejoy; he needs $500,000 to buy the rights from the writer's widow, Doris. Chili confronts Leo and takes his money to invest in the film, deciding to become a Hollywood producer, and rejects Bo's suggestion that they collaborate.

Bo has left $500,000 in a locker at Los Angeles International Airport for his Colombian contacts to collect. A naive gangster, Yayo Portillo, is sent to collect the money but refuses after Bo warns him that DEA agents are watching the locker. At Bo's cliffside home, Yayo threatens to inform on Bo if he is arrested with the cash; Bo shoots Yayo, knocking him over the deck railing, and plans to eliminate Chili in a similar fashion. He is later visited by Mr. Escobar, a Colombian drug lord who turns out to be Yayo's uncle, who demands full repayment.

Warming to Chili, Karen also wants to become a producer and arranges a meeting with Hollywood star Martin Weir, her ex-husband. Martin is intrigued by Chili's pitch and interested in playing Chili. Sensing that Harry is jealous of Chili and too stupid to realize he is being played, Bo offers him the locker money as a new investment, suggesting he send Chili to fetch it. Sensing a trap, Chili fakes out the DEA agents while confirming the presence of the money. He gets into a confrontation with Bo's enforcer, Bear, but the situation is defused when the two men start discussing Bear's former career as a stuntman.

After being seduced by Doris, Harry drunkenly calls Bones, insults him, and asks for another investment; he also reveals that Chili has Leo's money. Bones flies to Los Angeles and brutally beats Harry. When Ronnie interrupts them, Bones shoots him dead and plants the gun on Harry. Bear has a change of heart about the plan to kill Chili, but Bo threatens him and his young daughter. Chili and Karen give in to their mutual attraction and take a badly injured Harry to a lunch meeting with Martin.

Desperate to pay the Colombians, Bo resorts to kidnapping Karen and forcing Chili to give him Leo's money. Chili delivers the money, but Bo then orders Bear to beat him to death; during the fake scuffle, Bear maneuvers Bo into falling into a railing he had loosened earlier, thus making Bo's death look like an accident. Bones breaks into Chili's hotel room, and demands Leo's money at gunpoint. Chili tells him it is in the locker, and Bones walks into the DEA's trap. Sometime later, Get Leo — the film within a film — is underway, produced by Chili, Harry, and Karen, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Martin as Chili and Harvey Keitel as Bones, with Bear as stunt supervisor. When Martin's prop gun fails, Harry halts filming for the day, to Doris's displeasure as they are two weeks behind. Chili and Karen leave the lot after arguing with Martin's agent about an upcoming project they feel he's too short for.

Cast

[edit]

Get Shorty also features an appearance from the real Ernest "Chili" Palmer, a Miami loan shark and mob-connected man who inspired the original character.[5]

Soundtrack

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The movie features an acid- and soul-jazz themed soundtrack with songs by Us3, Morphine, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Greyboy and Medeski Martin & Wood alongside original compositions by John Lurie.[6] The soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award (1997 - Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television).[7]

Production

[edit]

Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Michael Keaton were offered the role of Chili Palmer but they all declined.[8][9] Sonnenfeld considered Samuel L. Jackson (who had co-starred with Travolta in Pulp Fiction) for the role of Bo Catlett.[10] Steve Buscemi and Matthew McConaughey were considered for the role of Ronnie Wingate.[11]

Reception

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, Get Shorty holds an approval rating of 88% based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With a perfect cast and a sly twist on the usual Hollywood gangster dynamic, Get Shorty delivers a sharp satire that doubles as an entertaining comedy-thriller in its own right."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[13] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade "B+" on scale of A+ to F.[14] The film was entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.[15]

The film opened at number one in the domestic box office upon its release with $12.7 million.[16] Get Shorty remained number one for three consecutive weeks before being overtaken by Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.[17]

Accolades

[edit]

For his role as Chili Palmer, John Travolta received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film also received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

References

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  1. ^ "Perry Moore, 'Narnia' series executive producer, dies at 39; Don Peterman, Oscar-nominated cinematographer, dies at 79; Nancy Carr, network TV publicist, dies at 50". Los Angeles Times. 2011-02-22. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  2. ^ "Why 'Get Shorty' Is One of the Best Crime Comedies Ever". Collider. October 21, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Get Shorty". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Bland, Simon (22 February 2021). "Danny DeVito and Barry Sonnenfeld: how we made Get Shorty". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  5. ^ Anne E. Kornblut (November 4, 1995). "The Real Chili Palmer". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  6. ^ Okamoto, David (October 30, 1995). "'Get Shorty' Scores A Hit With Funky Soundtrack". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022 – via Chicago Tribune.
  7. ^ "Artist: John Lurie". Grammy Award. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  8. ^ "15 Fast-Talking Facts About Get Shorty". www.mentalfloss.com. October 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  9. ^ Goldstein, PATRICK (May 29, 1995). "Hangin' With 'Shorty' : A Comic Hollywood Crime Novel Has Brought Out the Tough-Guy Stars--Including John Travolta". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  10. ^ "Netflix's Da 5 Bloods star Delroy Lindo on his most famous roles". The A.V. Club. 7 February 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Jon Gries". The A.V. Club. 15 May 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. ^ Get Shorty at Rotten Tomatoes
  13. ^ Get Shorty at Metacritic Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ "GET SHORTY (1995) B+". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  15. ^ "Berlinale: 1996 Programme". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
  16. ^ Robert W. Welkos (24 October 1995). "Weekend Box Office : 'Shorty' Stands Tall in Ticket Sales". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  17. ^ "Weekend Box Office November 10–12, 1995". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
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