BE COOL by F. Gary Gray
The sequel to 1995’s ‘Get Shorty’ sees Chili Palmer (John Travolta – somewhat stiff) get tired of the movie-business and changing into the world of the music industry – which, we learn, is a very dangerous place (which doesn’t really impress Chili, of course). Together with widowed Edie (Uma Thurman) he wants to produce young singer Linda Moon (Christina Milian – girly band-material). Trouble is sure to come with Linda’s manager Raji (Vince Vaughn – doing the black-wannabe routine which gets tiresome with time), his boss Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel), Sin LaSalle’s (Cedric the Entertainer) gangsta-rappers, the Russians who offed Edie’s husband etc. etc.
There are some entertaining scenes with The Rock as Vince Vaughn’s gay bodyguard (who wants to be a movie star), André 3000 as Dabu (one of Cedric’s less than clever henchmen), there is the dance scene with John Travolta and Uma Thurman (who make a great couple on screen), and a concert scene with Aerosmith, but the movie is missing a decent story, it’s not noir, many of the jokes misfire, and there is no esprit – and no real coolness. Watch when you are a fan of The Rock, or love to see John T. and Uma dance, or when you’re a die-hard Aerosmith-fan and just must see everything they are in.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
[…] If that sounds a bit like City Slickers on bikes – well, it is. The gags come in a range from complete duds to annoying to mildly amusing, the performances are not exactly brilliant. John Travolta is in Be Cool mode, Tim Allen plays Tim Allen as usual, Martin Lawrence is acceptable, and Ray Liotta is still menacing. Only William H. Macy brings some dignity to his computer geek with bad riding skills and fear of women, and he gets the girl – gorgeous Marisa Tomei … the lucky bastard. Why WILD HOGS is commercially so successful remains a mystery, but if you want to watch a rip-off of City Slickers, here it is – and did i mention the magnificent Marisa Tomei is in it? […]