"Be Cool"

[Guest Luke Cage]

Get Shorty winked at the audience. Be Cool hit the audience over the head with a sledgehammer and said "HEY LOOK AT ME!!!"

I was checking my watch after ten minutes. If my wife wasn't digging it I would have walked out of the theater.

[starvenger]

I just saw the movie today and don't believe this crap. Be Cool was a lot of fun, hell it's worth going to see just for Vince Vaughn and The Rock. They were funny as all shit in this.

 

I think they defocused Christina Milian because it's always hard to do movies with "Agent/producer finds mega talent" storylines. I mean it takes a really amazing talent to have that be the main focus and Milian really isn't it.

 

Travolta and Uma are for the most part on auto here but Vaughn and Rocky are GOLD as well as Cedric and Andre from Outkast. Maybe not quite as good as Get Shorty but it's fairly close.

I'm given to understand that this is the main part where things deviate from the book. I'll be seeing this Tuesday or Wednesday, and I'll be able to comment on this then.

[Guest M. Harry Smilac]

What a mess of a film.

[MDH257]

The movie was okay, but I was really dissapointed. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as Get Shorty, but I was hoping it would at least match the tone.

 

I think the biggest mistake was not bringing back Scott Frank as screenwriter and Barry Sonnenfeld as director.

[Myxamatosis]

I saw it this weekend, and yes, Uma Thurman and Travolta phoned it in big time for this one. It was really tough to picture Uma as a weak female after the Kill Bill series.

 

The supporting cast (Rock, Cedric, Vaughn, Andre) really stepped it up and made the film salvageable at least. Anytime Vaughn said anything, I laughed my ass off. Same goes for Andre and Rock.

[starvenger]

I think the biggest mistake was not bringing back Scott Frank as screenwriter and Barry Sonnenfeld as director.

I think that you hit it on the head there. Scott Frank seems to know exactly how to translate Elmore Leonard to the big screen. This one just seems to lack that little extra that Frank can put into it.

 

Anyways, I thought the movie was good, but certainly not as great as it could be. Some thoughts:

 

- The music, or lack thereof. Stuff in the vein of "Green Onion" help to add a little bit of pace to the scenes. But there really isn't any "mood music", and it hurts the film

- Travolta, who just phones it in. The irony here is that Chili Palmer should allow him to do what he does best - mug for the camera and chew scenery - yet he doesn't do it.

- Uma, although this isn't totally her fault. The Edie character was not a main character in the movie, but they rewrote it, trying to recapture the Pulp Fiction magic I suppose.

- The setup. This goes back to the screenwriting, and this is pretty much where they go wrong. The movie has Chili going into the music industry, trying to make a singer famous. The book, however, has Chili working on a movie (in his head) about a singer trying to make it and the guy that helps her. So basically he and Linda are both using one another to get to the top in their industry.

- Linda Moon. The character suffers because they put the focus on Edie, and really she's now just kinda there. The part that irks me though, is they never explain how she jumps from doing things "her own way" to having an elaborate, overproduced single.

- Andre 3000. Good stuff. Dabu wasn't in the book, but they made this work, at least. Mr. Benjamin has got some potential.

- The Rock. Owned the role, which isn't all that surprising - after all, Leonard modeled Elliot after Rocky (minus the gay part).

- Vince Vaughn. I admit it, turning Raji into a Beastie Boy was inspired, and probably the best thing that F. Gary Gray did with the movie. In the hands of anyone but Vaughn (who seems to specialize in jerkoff characters), this might not work, but Vaughn pulls it off. He and Rocky had some pretty good chemisty.

- PG-13 Rating. You simply cannot have "fuck" said only once in an Elmore Leonard film. You just can't. It's criminal.

- (edit) I forgot to add that seeing the Japanamation robots (I saw a Getta Robo G - Dragun, Mazinger and I think a Gaiking) was kinda cool, yet entirely random.

 

Overall, I'd say to wait for video, and expect something better than The Big Bounce, not not on the level of Out Of Sight, Jackie Brown or Get Shorty. Or even Karen Sisco. Let's hope that Tishimongo Blues goes better...

Edited March 10, 2005 by starvenger

[iliketurtles]

Just saw it...not impressive. Travolta just walked around basically getting his paycheck.

 

Vaughn and Andre 3000 were the best in the movie. Way too much bullshit with trying to stuff as many big stars in movie/music/entertainment industry in one movie at once, and it's probably going to backfire just like Ocean's Twelve.

 

And why Rock took this role is beyond me. I agree with Vince, this was a baaaad choice by all means. It did nothing but hurt him (way to early in his career to try to prove he can be a serious actor when everyone wants to see him in action, kick ass movies) and he had such a small role, it was ridlicious.

 

Thumbs down, and Rock better come through in Doom or he can say hello to the WWE come 2006.

 

People left during this movie, by the way. About 10 people at different times got up and left cause this movie was that bad.

[Dogbert]

Personally, I loved it. I was laughing throughout the whole thing.

 

Vaughn and Rock were awesome.

[iliketurtles]

Vaughn yelling "BIOOOOITCH" on the phone at the end of his converstaion with someone (forgot who) had me dying.

[Tawren]

Sorry for bumping an old topic, but I finally saw this. I definitely agree on the Travolta/Thurman phoning it in thoughts, and I also thought Milian was terrible. On the other hand, The Rock was absolutely fantastic. His monologue ("when you go to nationals...bring it!") and Travolta's response was my favorite scene of the movie. Cedric the Entertainer, Andre 3000, and Vince Vaughn were also really really good. So it was a completely mixed bag on the whole.

 

One positive is that I'm going to read the book now. I really want to see how they differ.

[Nighthawk]

Someone sell me on Elmore Leonard.

 

Because I've only read one of his books ("Maximum Bob"), and I loathed it with such a passion that I've never picked up a single thing he's written since.

How is someone going to "sell you" on someone you don't like (or probably won't like if you loathed on of his books)? Granted, I haven't read MAXIMUM BOB so it may be his worst book. Most likely though you're better off staying away from his work.

Actually it is his worst book. But that's a very delayed reaction.

[Rob E Dangerously]

I'd say the movie was so-so but the Rock was pretty good, as was Vaughn.

 

There wasn't enough Russians though. The Hitman had some good moments.

 

Did anybody notice that Fred Durst made an uncredited unmentioned cameo at the end?