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Be Cool

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Be Cool (2005)

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Reviews Counted:165

Fresh:48

Rotten:117

Average Rating:4.6/10

Consensus: Be Cool is tepid, square, and lukewarm; as a parody of the music business, it has two left feet.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: In this sequel to the 1995 mobster comedy GET SHORTY, John Travolta returns as Chili Palmer, a smooth-talking loanshark turned successful movie producer. But he's tired of the film industry, and so... In this sequel to the 1995 mobster comedy GET SHORTY, John Travolta returns as Chili Palmer, a smooth-talking loanshark turned successful movie producer. But he's tired of the film industry, and so he sets his sights on the music business, teaming up with music producer Edie (Uma Thurman)--the widow of a recently murdered colleague. Seeing great potential in an up-and-coming singer named Linda Moon (Christina Milian), Chili makes it his goal to rescue the young talent from her sleazy manager Raji (Vince Vaughn), and make her a star. But it doesn't take long for Chili to realize that in the music industry, not everybody plays by the rules. Combining organized crime and record label know-how as they infiltrate the music industry, Chili and Edie (Thurman) must free Moon from her contract with Raji and record label exec Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel), while fending off the Russian mafia and a whole slew of enemies, played by Cedric the Entertainer, and Andre Benjamin (of OutKast), among others. Director F. Gary Gray casts The Rock against type as Raji's flamboyant, aspiring-actor bodyguard, Elliot. In fact, the film's most humorous scene might be when Elliot breaks into Edie's home in order to show Chili a monologue from the film BRING IT ON. Overall, the film's tone is a self-referential one, established in the first five minutes by Chili's complaints over the nature of sequels and the PG-13 rating system itself. From here on out, the film's humor becomes more and more dependent on the audiences knowledge of all things pop culture, with a dance scene between Travolta and Thurman recalling their memorable pairing in PULP FICTION. [More]

Starring: Vince Vaughn, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Cedric the Entertainer

Starring: Vince Vaughn, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Cedric the Entertainer, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Danny DeVito, Robert Pastorelli, Paul Adelstein, James Woods, André Benjamin

Director: F. Gary Gray

Director: F. Gary Gray
Screenwriter: Peter Steinfeld
Producer: Danny DeVito, Stacey Sher, Michael Shamberg, David A. Nicksay
Composer: John Powell
Studio: MGM/UA

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
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  • Be Cool Clip: The Dance
    >
    Be Cool Clip: Play My Records
    >
    Be Cool Clip: Twinkle Twinkle Baby
    >
    "Chili and the Cops"
    >
  • Be Cool Trailer
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1 - 4 of 5

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Reviews for Be Cool

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161 - 174 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

...don’t expect it to be as good as GET SHORTY and you should be okay.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
03/03/05
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Be Cool ... should leave you in stitches. Unless, of course, you're one of those anti-discriminatory humour kind of people. You know who you are.

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment Comment
03/03/05
Mike Sage
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

Irony? If you say so.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
03/03/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

They'll look look longingly at the screen, silently willing the movie to Be cool! Be funny! At least be somewhat interesting! And the hopes will go unfulfilled.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
03/02/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Painful to sit through. Except for Travolta & Thurman’s dance, this is awful. Product placement everywhere and only Aerosmith’s Joe Perry & The Rock keep their dignity.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
03/02/05
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

has been manufactured to the hilt to appeal to all demographics yet entertains none

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/02/05
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Filmcritic.com

doesn’t capture much of what’s really cool in Elmore Leonard’s novel, but there’s no denying that “Be Cool” provides some very funny, very entertaining moments.

Full Review Source: Sean the Movie Guy | comment Comment
03/02/05
Sean McBride
Sean McBride
Sean the Movie Guy

The laughs come often and the massive cast has brought its best.

Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
03/02/05
Joshua Tyler
Joshua Tyler
CinemaBlend.com

It should be a rule of filmmaking that when the plot fizzles out, the film should end

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/01/05
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

A lazy, rhythmless, and redundant piece of moviemaking.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
03/01/05
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker

The kind of sequel that gives sequels a bad name — a bland, lifeless, uninspired cash-in with an assembly-line script and a sleepwalking star.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
03/01/05
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Ultra-smooth ex-gangster Chili Palmer returns to the screen after a decade's absence and the audience gets whacked...an unmitigated disaster.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
03/01/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Be Cool is not really cool as Get Shorty was, but it's entertaining, a frivolous cocktail rather than a vintage wine.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
02/26/05
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Be Cool is anything but. A follow-up to the charming comedy Get Shorty, it’s one of the weakest sequels in recent memory.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/26/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
 
 
161 - 174 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
all

Latest News for Be Cool

June 26, 2007: Travolta On the Fence About "Wild Hogs 2"
Everyone was shocked when "Wild Hogs" became one of the biggest hits of all four stars' careers. It made so much money that it seems like they'd have to make... More...

March 05, 2007: Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Ride with Wild Hogs at #1
Moviegoers rallied behind the star-driven comedy "Wild Hogs," which raced to number one at the North American box office, zooming past all expectations from Disney.... More...

March 01, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: "Wild Hogs" Aims to Run Over "Ghost Rider"
One super hero on a motorcycle looks to get replaced by four middle-aged bikers at the number one spot at the North American box office this weekend. More...

September 18, 2006: Box Office Wrapup: Gridiron Gang #1, but Box Office Still Fumbles
Wrestler-turned-actor The Rock suffered the worst opening of his career with the football drama Gridiron Gang, but thanks to weak competition, it was still enough to capture the... More...

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