RECENT WATCHES: Be Cool (2005)

“Get Shorty” made 115 million dollars at the box office in 1995 but did anybody remember that in 2005? Barry Sonnenfeld's Elmore Leonard adaptation had largely faded from the pop culture landscape not long after it came out. Yet Leonard wrote a second Chili Palmer book in 1999 and it too was a best seller. Someone, up along the movie studio ladder, must've decided that a cinematic version of this sequel would be worthwhile. “Be Cool” would arrive in theaters a full decade after the original. The sequel was greeted with a certain degree of hype, owing to its impressive cast. Now, another decade later, this one is also all-but-forgotten. Yet, as I all too often do, I found myself looking back at some flick and thinking “Oh yeah, I never saw that. Was it any good?” Only one way to find out. 

Chili Palmer has been working as a movie producer for several years now, enough to be disillusioned with the entire industry. He's just about to call it quits when his friend Tommy Athens, a record executive, is killed right in front of him. He checks on Edie, Tommy' widow and an old friend of Chili's, and discovers their company owes a considerable debt to a dangerous rap producer. Chili also discovers Linda Moon, an aspiring singer whose contract is being sat on by another record producer. (With his own dangerous thugs.) Chili is inspired to give music-producing a shot, while unraveling the various entanglements around the up-and-coming singer. 

“Get Shorty” was clearly hoping to ride on the coattails of “Pulp Fiction.” “Be Cool” blatantly emulates the more famous movie in another way. It reunites John Travolta and Uma Thurman. From what I recall, the entire movie was sold on this couple being back together on-screen again. Following right on the heels of her “Kill Bill” boost, Thurman is admittedly charming and cute in many of her scenes. Travolta, meanwhile, seems utterly drained of energy. Chili Palmer wasn't that interesting in “Get Shorty” but at least John seemed engaged with the material. Here, he sleepwalks through the movie. Moreover, none of the chemistry with Thurman that sparked so much in “Pulp Fiction” is evident here. The two share another dancing scene together – of course they do – and it's utterly lifeless. 

Much like the first film, “Be Cool” has a convoluted story filled with multiple colorful characters. A number of famous faces fill these roles. Harvey Keitel – who appeared as himself in “Get Shorty” – hams it up as the evil record executive. Vince Vaughn is terribly annoying as a white wannabe rapper/hitman. Cedric the Entertainer is amusingly cast against type as the soft spoken and threatening hip-hop producer. Andre 3000 gets a handful of laughs as one of his thugs, who greatly overestimates his own importance. Notable figures like James Woods, Seth Green, and Danny DeVito (returning from “Get Shorty”) drop in for cameos. There's also appearances from a number of notable pop music figures: The Black Eyed Peas, Gene Simmons, an incredibly self-aggrandizing Steven Tyler, and, uh, Fred Durst.  

It's a stacked, A-list group. Yet only one cast member of “Be Cool” makes much of an impression. Dwayne Johnson plays Elliot, another one of Keitel's bodyguards. Elliot is gay, something the antagonists frequently mock him for, and dreams of becoming a country-and-western singer. This was early in Johnson's movie career, when his only star vehicles were middling action fair like the “Walking Tall” remake. Johnson subverted his macho image here but, more importantly, displayed his considerable range. He's quiet, charming, and funny. When he claims he's going to break into Hollywood with a raised eyebrow, it's Johnson poking fun at his own career. Yet it's also a knowing nod that this guy was on the verge of super stardom, destined for bigger things than what he had previously done. When he breaks into a Hawaiian dance at the end of the movie, it's one of “Be Cool's” few lively moments.

“Get Shorty” wasn't a movie I liked that much but at least it reflected on the film industry in some ways. Chili dreamed of breaking into movies because he loved movies. It showed Hollywood as full of con men but ultimately worth it, for that joyous moment of creative fulfillment. “Be Cool” has no such statement to make about the music industry. Linda never really comes to life as a character and we never learn much about her dreams or aspiration. The sole introspective scene we get about how people relate to music is an embarrassing moment. Chili talks Steven Tyler into reinterpreting one of his old songs, both actors coming across as incredibly hammy and unnatural.  Otherwise, “Be Cool” has nothing to say about the music industry or anything much at all.

Honestly, I don't know why this movie exists. “Get Shorty” was a moneymaker in its day but I doubt anyone was clamoring for the Further Adventures of Chili Palmer. Audiences certainly didn't appeared to be. “Be Cool” grossed 95 million against a 53 million budget, which isn't terrible but isn't great either. John Travolta and Uma Thurman's careers would falter again shortly afterwards. Director F. Gary Gray – obviously hired because of his long association with music videos – obviously knows how to make a visually flashy film and has continue to get high-profile projects. Ultimately, aside from Dwayne Johnson's amusing performance, this a movie with very little to offer. [5/10]