Get Shorty is a 1995 film based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. It was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starred John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, and Delroy Lindo. The plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details.
The film was followed by the sequel Be Cool in 2005.
Plot
Chili Palmer (John Travolta), a Miami loan shark, clashes with another mobster, Ray "Bones" Barboni (Dennis Farina), after Ray takes his jacket (his own having been stolen from a restaurant cloakroom). Chili promptly finds him, breaks his nose, and takes his jacket back. Ray goes to the barbershop where Chili has his office, but Chili is warned by the barbers and shoots first when Ray bursts through the door, grazing the top of Ray's head and causing him to flee. Ray's boss, Jimmy Cap (Alex Rocco, who appears uncredited) refuses to go to war over such a trivial matter, and chastises Ray for foolishly taking the coat in the first place. When Chili's powerful New York boss, Momo, dies of a heart attack, Chili finds himself working for Ray, who happily uses it to his advantage. Ray orders Chili to collect a large debt owed by Leo DeVoe (David Paymer), even though Leo is presumed dead.
When Chili visits Fay (Linda Hart), Leo's supposed widow, she tells him Leo is alive. When Leo's airliner sat on the runway for repairs, he debarked and got drunk at the airport bar. The airplane took off without him, then crashed. Leo was assumed to be dead and his wife received a $300,000 settlement from the airline. Leo took the money to Las Vegas, where he won another $200,000. Chili learns from Dick Allen (Bobby Slayton), a Las Vegas casino manager, that Leo has gone to Los Angeles. Allen asks Chili to collect a gambling debt from a B-movie producer named Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) while he is in town as a favor.
Harry agrees to pay back the money in 60 days. With that settled, avid film fan Chili pitches a movie idea to Harry about a Miami loanshark chasing a scamming businessman to Los Angeles. Harry is interested in the concept, but he has another financial problem: he borrowed $300,000 from drug dealer Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo) to finance the movie he wanted to make. It wasn't enough, so he tried to raise the rest by betting on sports and lost it all. Chili tells Harry he will take care of it. Chili also tracks Leo down and takes the insurance money and his winnings without incident(promising Leo he will pay back the money he won), but does not inform Ray.
Catlett himself is in a jam. When he goes to the airport to pay Yayo Portillo (Jacob Vargas), a messenger from drug lord Mr. Escobar (Miguel Sandoval), he spots undercover federal drug agents about, so he gives Yayo a key to a storage locker instead of the money directly. Yayo refuses to take the risk and accompanies Catlett home. Yayo becomes obnoxious, so Catlett shoots him, not realizing he has killed Escobar's nephew.
When Catlett and his business associate Ronnie (Jon Gries) visit Harry for a progress report about the film he is supposedly financing, Chili tells Catlett that Harry has another project he has to finish first. Ronnie and Catlett are obviously furious and demand their money back. In a panic Harry reveals too much, arousing Catlett's curiosity about this other film. It turns out that Catlett, like Chili, wants to be a film producer. Meanwhile, Chili meets and is attracted to Karen Flores (Rene Russo), a beautiful, cynical actress in low-budget horror films.
Later, Catlett offers Harry $500,000 interest free to drop Chili and let him produce the movie instead. Catlett gives Harry the locker key and suggests Chili go get the money. Harry, getting fed up with Chili and what he perceives as broken promises on his part, is intrigued. However, Chili is not fooled; he sees the agents and leaves the money untouched. Catlett's enforcer, Bear (James Gandolfini), gets beaten twice when he tries to intimidate Chili. The second time, Chili does his best to get Bear on his side. Bear, a former movie stuntman and single father of a little girl, is weary of his job and wants to go straight, but Catlett blackmails him into staying by implicitly threatening his daughter.
Chili wants famous actor Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) to star in the film. Through Karen, Weir's ex-wife, Chili pitches him the idea. Weir is interested.
Harry, irritated with Chili, telephones Ray and tells him that Chili has the money he was sent to collect and more. Ray flies to Los Angeles and starts beating Harry when he does not get satisfactory answers to his questions, but is interrupted when Ronnie shows up. Ray kills Ronnie and frames Harry for the killing. A badly beaten Harry is rushed the hospital to recover from his beating, which was obviously ruled as self defense as it appeared that Ronnie was the one who beat Harry up.
A romance begins between Chili and Karen, but Catlett kidnaps her and demands Chili bring the money owed to him, as Mr. Escobar has arrived from Mexico, looking for his money and his nephew. Though Chili turns over the money he got from Leo, Catlett reneges on their deal. Bear starts beating Chili, but it is just an act. In the ensuing struggle, Catlett is pushed against the balcony railing (which was earlier secretly weakened by Bear). It collapses and Catlett plummets to his death, with Bear grabbing Chili just before he falls as well.
Ray confronts Chili and demands Leo's money. Searching Chili's pockets, he finds the airport locker key, so Ray heads there to get the cash. When he opens the locker, he is confronted by police. This scene blends into one being filmed on a Hollywood set, with actor Harvey Keitel playing Ray, while Martin Weir portrays the loanshark. Chili's movie is being directed by Penny Marshall, with Harry as executive producer, Chili and Karen co-producers, and Bear a technical consultant.
Novel versus film
In the novel, Palmer and Flores attempt to woo Weir in a nightclub, while in the movie, they visit his house. In the novel, there is an additional confrontation between Zimm and Bones which results in Bones giving Zimm a concussion and framing him for killing a partner of Catlett's, whom Bones shot when he walked in on the altercation; this is not in the movie. The ending is also slightly different.
The novel Be Cool, published in 1999, is a sequel to Get Shorty. Production began during 2003 to turn it into a motion picture, which was released on March 4, 2005.
Cast
Cameos
Production
John Travolta originally refused the picture, until he got a call from Quentin Tarantino asking him to "read the book". Travolta did, and realized many of the best parts had been paraphrased. He then requested they be added back into the screenplay, and Travolta contracted thereafter.
At the beginning of the film, Ray Bones makes jokes at Chili's expense. He has two thugs with him; the one on the right, who says, "That was a good one", is played by an actor named Ernest "Chili" Palmer. Palmer was writer Elmore Leonard's model for the original book's character. According to a newspaper article, he claims not to have been involved with gangsters, loan sharking, or anything of that sort. When the filmmakers found out from Leonard that there was a real Chili Palmer, they gave him a bit part in the film.[1]
Actor Miguel Sandoval portrayed the drug lord "Mr. Escobar," who shares a common name with Pablo Escobar, a real South American drug lord. In Clear and Present Danger (film), Sandoval previously played a character named "Escobedo," based on the real Escobar[2].
References
External links
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