Date: Fri 27-Oct-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-12

Quick Words:

Get-Shorty-Playing-Travolta

Full Text:

(rev of The Net , Now Playing, 10/27/95)

Now Playing-

Travolta May Win An Oscar Yet

By Trey Paul Alexander III

"Fun." That's the best way to describe Get Shorty , the breezy new film

playing at Crown Cine in Danbury. Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, this film

is a clever mix of crime tale and Hollywood send-up.

John Travolta stars as Chili Palmer, a smooth, unflappable loan shark working

out of Miami. When we first meet him, he is sitting in a restaurant booth,

staring wistfully out the window. Chili is good at what he does, yet he wants

something more. But what?

Chili's yearnings are answered by his latest assignment: He must recover

$300,000 in stolen bills from a debtor who was presumed dead but isn't. The

chase leads him to Los Angeles and a chance to collect on another marker from

Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), a B-movie producer in Tinseltown. While there,

Chili figures, why not make the producer an offer he can't refuse?

It is often said that the phrase most often uttered by movie stars is "But

what I really want to do is direct!" In Chili's case, he may be a loan shark,

but what he really wants to do is make movies. But unlike many babes from the

Midwest who venture into the bright lights of the big city thinking they will

hit it big, Chili has enough suave and savvy to go with the gumption of a

belief that he can break into showbiz.

The film's title, Get Shorty , refers to the pursuit of movie star Martin Weir

(Danny DeVito), whom Zimm and Chili pursue for their motion picture

production. Their trump card in luring Weir to the table is screen scream

queen Karen Flores (Rene Russo), frequent female lead of schlocky horror

flicks, who once was married to Weir. Together, the three hound the diminutive

actor in the hopes of getting his commitment to the project.

Meanwhile, there are all types of interesting subplots going on. There are

some L.A. loan sharks, led by Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), that are after Zimm

for another outstanding loan. They butt heads with Chili over the handling of

the finances for the new film. There is also Ray Barboni (Dennis Farina), an

old rival of Chili's, who is looking for a quick return of the missing

$300,000. Also, every good flick needs a little romance, and this one nicely

develops a quiet one between Chili and Karen.

Get Shorty is a wonderful triumph for director Barry Sonnenfeld, a former

cinematographer who hit it big in the director's chair with the successful

Addams Family movies. He uses his visual sense to great advantage here,

painting a film with broad, colorful strokes that add immensely to the joy of

watching Get Shorty . He is also aided by a bouncy score by John Lurie that

helps underscore the movie's playfulness.

Sonnenfeld, along with screenwriter Scott Frank, also does some deft work in

maintaining a canny balance between broad comedy and self-reflexive satire.

For example, Get Shorty is not as absorbed in Hollywood parody as the superb,

recent Robert Altman film The Player , but it has its share of star cameos and

a number of fun allusions to Travolta's real-life big screen career.

Travolta, by the way, gives such a winning performance here that one wonders

how he ever got lost in the Hollywood Has-Been shuffle in the first place

before doing Pulp Fiction . Although surrounded by a host of terrific actors

doing droll, on-the-mark work, Travolta definitely makes the movie his, and

his assured presence at the center of the film may garner him a second

straight Oscar nomination.

Get Shorty is rated R for frequent - though intentionally italicized - use of

profanity. It also contains some violent scenes which, though not overly

graphic, may startle audiences due to the film's overall light tone.