Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay: Scott Frank, based on the novel Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Starring: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito,
Running Time: 105 minutes
Genre: Comedy, thriller
Chili Palmer (Travolta), a Miami loan shark, heads to Los Angeles to collect a debt for the Mob. Stopping off in Las Vegas, Chili picks up a second job to collect a gambling debt from B-movie producer Harry Zimm (Hackman), and meets cynical "scream queen" actress Karen Flores (Russo). A rabid movie fan, Chili decides to try his hand at film production. However, the Miami Mob want the money that Chili was sent to collect, and a gang of ruthless drug dealers are after a large amount of money that Zimm owes them.
This light comedy-thriller was the first film that John Travolta made after he made his Hollywood comeback with Pulp Fiction (1994), and Quentin Tarantino's influence is all over this film with the stylish, cool (if at best morally ambiguous) characters, and profane, fast-talking dialogue, laden with movie references, and occasional flashes of violence. In fact Tarantino would make his own Elmore Leonard adaptation with Jackie Brown (1998). This is one of those movies were everyone involved seems to be having a great time, and Travolta coasts along with effortless charisma, and he is supported by a great cast, which also includes Danny DeVito as a major Hollywood star (the "Shorty" of the title), who Palmer and Zimm want for the movie they are putting together.
This is a hugely enjoyable film with a satisfying plot and clever, funny script which manages to poke fun at and celebrate Hollywood gangster movies,
A sequel, Be Cool, was released in 2005 and the original novel was adapted as a TV series.
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