Be Cool
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: John Travolta, Uma thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre 3000, Robert Pastorelli, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, The Rock.
Rated: PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references.
Parental Notes: This film is fine for most pre-teens. It’s out of the interest range of kids who are too young for the violence and language.
There is a fine line to be walked referential humor. Some comedies use too much without using enough to be over-the-top funny. Others don’t use quite enough, so it’s unclear whether the references are on purpose. One should be either overtly and constantly referential (think “Airplane” or “Scary Movie”) or tread very carefully. “Be Cool” takes the latter path, and while it mostly succeeds, sometimes it is a little too self-aware.
“Be Cool” is the sequel to 1995’s “Get Shorty,” a fantastic film which followed loan shark Chili Palmer (John Travolta) as he headed to Hollywood to deal with a movie producer and ended up pitching a movie based on his life. His movie was a hit, and now he’s a big time producer — just a step away from being a loan shark, really. But he’s tired of being in movies, and is interested in getting into music.
When a good friend of Chili’s, who happens to be a record producer, is killed, Chili suggests to grieving widow Edie (Uma Thurman) that she produce the album of a singer he has discovered. The problem is that the singer, Linda Moon (Christina Milian), is under contract to a miserable pair of men: Raji (Vince Vaughn), a white dude who clearly wishes he was black, and Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel), a guy Chili knows from his days in organized crime. Add an aggressive rap musician manager, Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer, in fine form), and his dim-witted but trigger-happy rapper clients (Andre 3000, among others) to the mix, and you have a sure-fire complex comedy opportunity.
For the most part, “Be Cool” succeeds. The comedy revolves around snarky in-jokes about the music and movie business and references to everything from “Get Shorty” to “Saturday Night Fever.” The dialog is snappy and quick (although Chili uses his “if that” tagline a little too frequently), and the characters bounce off each other well.
One of the real gems in the film is The Rock, who plays Elliot, a would-be actor and Raji’s bodyguard. Everyone around him assumes Elliot is gay, and it’s understandable — when off-duty, he shops for powder-blue slacks and satin shirts, and the monologue he prepares for an audition is from a cheerleading movie. Although the character is never confirmed as a homosexual, anyone who’s seen “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” will recognize the stereotypes. Fortunately, Elliot is a fantastic character — well-rounded, not just a caricature — and it’s hard not to like him. The Rock shows an impressive amount of courage for a muscle-bound action star, and dives into the part whole-heartedly. The comedy that comes out of the juxtaposition of Elliott’s tough guy attitude while body guarding and his femme habits off duty wouldn’t work nearly as well if the Rock had shown any fear or hesitation.
Where the film fails a little is in the bits of self-reference that don’t have enough to do with the story. For example, there’s a dance sequence between Uma Thurman and John Travolta that apparently is only there because the two of them danced together in another film, “Pulp Fiction.” Well, and because they’re good dancers. But it doesn’t tell us much about the characters in this movie, except that they can dance too and dance well together. Maybe it’s supposed to show us that they’re compatible, but that’s not made entirely clear. Likewise, there are a number of scenes which feature entire songs by Christina Milian; while she is a talented singer, those who aren’t fond of her style of music will doubtless find that trying. It would be more understandable if it served the plot or was a referential in-joke, but it plays as neither.
However, the acting is a delight from start to finish, whether it’s Vince Vaughn playing up to every stereotype of the white man who wants to be black or Cedric the Entertainer being at once hilarious and menacing. Travolta is still a flawless Chili Palmer, utterly self-confident and utterly cool, and Uma Thurman does a good job with Edie, who is a somewhat uneven character (although one has to wonder where Chili’s girlfriend from the last movie went; Karen goes unmentioned here). The supporting cast are gems, from the gifted singer Christina Milian to the unpleasant hit man played by the late Robert Pastorelli.
Folks who loved the sharp, snappy “Get Shorty” and like referential humor are sure to love “Be Cool.” This is a laugh-out-loud funny movie from start to finish, and doubly so if you are up to date on movie clich