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Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2005 | ||
What do you think of this story? | Be Cool - This movie stinksOne of the worst comments you could receive on a report card was, failure to reach potential, because that meant that not only did you get a bad grade but your teacher and your parents knew that you could do better. Be Cool, the follow up to Get Shorty, does not live up to its potential and it is a long, boring, exceptionally bad film because of it. Consider this the early favorite for worst movie of 2005. The plot, which is so convoluted that my brain hurts trying to remember it, focuses on former shylock turned Hollywood producer Chili Palmer. Palmer wants out of the movie biz and into the music biz and his entry into the field hinges on him helping a struggling label and a young ingénue named Linda Moon. He must also tangle with record execs that are more like mafiosos as well as thugs and the Russian mafia. There are double crosses galore but they arent fun, interesting or clever. Travolta, who was enjoying a career resurgence when he initially took the role of Palmer in Get Shorty, appears to be on his way back down again. He glides through the movie with a monotone delivery and a look of sheer boredom on his face. I guess it was because he had to watch this disaster being made day after day. Uma Thurman is nothing to write home about as label president Edie Athens and she must be praying for Quentin Tarantino to have another role lined up for her soon. The rest of the cast, with a few exceptions, are between mediocre and just plain bad. Harvey Keitel was awful but I blame the screenwriter more than I blame him. The man should never have to use hip-hop lingo. Its an embarrassment to both him and the audience. Vince Vaughns character was mildly amusing until he goes off on a homophobic tirade to his gay bodyguard, Elliot, played by The Rock. The Rock was one of the few high points in the film and Outkasts Andre 3000 was the other. Both had characters that had interesting relationships with the people around them and funny lines and scenarios. For a comedy, these were the only people in the film who delivered laughs. That is, unless you found the premise of people fawning all over the character of Moon and her talents as laughable as I did. Christina Milian played Linda Moon and her voice was fine, but not great. I began to wonder how far she would make it on American Idol. Yes, I had that much free time on my hands. It was just one of the many subplots in the film that did not feel real in any way. Add to this Palmer getting Linda a gig with Aerosmith in a day or Linda playing piano at a youth center where all the cool kids paint their faces like theyre in Cirque de Soleil and dance like extras from You Got Served. What planet do the makers of this film think we live on? Be Cool ran a little over two hours but it felt more like five. I just wanted it to end and finally it did, though not soon enough. Get Shorty was a sharp, fun comedy and it looked like everybody that worked on it had a blast. Be Cool appeared to have been as torturous for the cast, writer and director as it was for the audience. It really was horrible and I hope that this review keeps as many people away from it as possible.
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