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Movies / On DVD / Get Shorty
Get Shorty

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Get Shorty (1995)

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Reviews Counted:47

Fresh:40

Rotten:7

Average Rating:7.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer Harry Zimm... This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), the maker of the stunning flops "Grotesque" and "Slime People." But this is Harry's lucky day, because Chili is also a film buff, and when he's done talking tough he starts pitching Harry a script idea. As everyone knows, the best background for the motion picture industry is the criminal underworld, and Chili is smoothly launched into the life of a producer: romancing a B-movie scream queen, schmoozing superstars, getting reservations in the hottest restaurants in town. However, Chili's not the only mobster wanting to turn producer. It seems that a thug named Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), another of Harry's lenders, also wants a piece of the action. Add in a group of angry drug smugglers and there is an abundance of double- and triple-crosses, as well as plenty of wisecracks and Hollywood insider jokes. GET SHORTY crosses the line of life imitating art--and vice versa--many times, including the real Ernest "Chili" Palmer (on whom the character is based) playing a Mafia henchman. Barry Sonnenfeld's entertaining romp is a wild look at the celebrity life in Hollywood, featuring numerous cameos of stars playing themselves. [More]

Starring: John Travolta, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito

Starring: John Travolta, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Dennis Farina, James Gandolfini, David Paymer

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Story: Elmore Leonard

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Get Shorty

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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A freewheeling comedy-thriller with the gift of the gab.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/07/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Everything clicks.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An award winning film that is thoroughly entertaining, one that you can watch again, and again, and ….

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

By turns satirically glamorous and seedily dark.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew Collins
Andrew Collins
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hollywood has been in love with mobsters since the beginning of movies. But the other side of the equation has seldom been considered. That is, until now.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
05/07/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

This Hollywood is the one we want to believe exists: no film school snots here, no MBA's, no dock-worker philosophers-turned-screenwriters. Just a town full of second-rate swindlers where a clear-eyed racketeer can keep his eye on the ball and rise.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/07/08
Harlan Jacobson
Harlan Jacobson
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A drolly offbeat look at Hollywood mores dedicated to the proposition that the best preparation for becoming a film producer is a stint in the criminal underworld.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/07/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An entertaining comedy-thriller adapted by Scott Frank from the Elmore Leonard best-seller and directed with bounce (if not much nuance) by Barry Sonnenfeld.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/07/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

A very cool, very fresh, very slick crime flick.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
07/14/06
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Sonnenfeld keeps all of this under two hours by cutting the movie at a dazzling clip.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/24/05
Jesse Hassenger
Jesse Hassenger
PopMatters

...it seems clear that Get Shorty will appeal mostly to those familiar with the source material - as it has to be more coherent and fleshed out than this.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
03/20/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

It's not an official masterpiece, but like Casablanca, it's a virtually flawless product of the Hollywood machine.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
03/03/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Released in the shadow of Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty — for all its acclaim — has never received its due as one of the funniest Hollywood films of modern times.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
02/24/05
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

No review available.

comment Comment
10/04/04
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
06/04/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

Has more than a few nasty quips directed at Hollywood and the vacuous, egotistical people who populate it.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/13/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

I really never got into this. It's slow, some industry jokes are funny, but mostly really slow. Rene Russo looks great thoughh.

comment Comment
07/25/03
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
About.com

Not a bad Pulp Fiction rehash.

comment Comment
07/23/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

It's part of the joke here that Chili is a die-hard cineaste and loves reminiscing about smart, stylish tough-guy films he has enjoyed. Get Shorty belongs on that list.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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Latest News for Get Shorty

March 08, 2006: "Lookout" for Gugino, Goode, and Fisher
Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, and Isla Fisher have signed on to co-star with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Scott Frank's "The Lookout," which looks to be a crime thriller of... More...

December 08, 2005: Jeff Daniels Does "Lookout" Duty for Disney
Well-admired character actor Jeff Daniels will star in a thriller entitled "The Lookout" for Disney and Spyglass, a project that will mark the directorial debut of an... More...

September 01, 2005: Lane, Jane, and Rourke on Tap for Weinstein's "Killshot"
Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, and Mickey Rourke have been tapped by the Weinstein brothers to star in "Killshot," which is an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, says... More...

March 03, 2005: Critical Consensus: Not So Cool
You know what they say – sequels are rarely better than the originals. “Be Cool,” the sequel to 1995’s “Get Shorty,” opens this weekend and continues that trend. Also opening... More...

See All

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