the Mind’s Chew Toy

Travolta and Uma reunited! Vince Vaughn as a gangsta-wannabe! OutKast’s André Benjamin in his first starring movie role! Christina Milan acting! Former WWE star The Rock as a gay bodyguard?

That’s just the beginning of why I wanted to see the Get Shorty (1995) sequel Be Cool ever since I first heard about it. Alas, movies being as expensive in theaters as they are these days, I had to content myself with waiting until it hit DVD. Would Be Cool be as witty and original as Get Shorty (1995), or would the big names (and writer Elmore Leonard) let us down this time around?

John Travolta has lost a little bit of Chili’s cool charm in Be Cool that made the first movie such fun to watch. He’s still got some of it, but he actually seems to be a little distracted in his role this time around, so doesn’t put as much effort into making it work. Of course, we’ve seen Travolta at his worst way back with the Look Who’s Talking series - this isn’t that bad, by any stretch of the imagination. He still shows some acting skills, he’s just not on par with his performance in Get Shorty (1995).

Uma Thurman’s acting skills also suffer somewhat in this film, which is most noticeable during the dance sequence. Back in Pulp Fiction, Uma and Travolta had a weird chemistry that made the odd dance contest work so well. They both seem to have lost a little something this time around, bringing an odd tension to their performances together.

The Rock jumps right into the bodyguard role in Be Cool, which is sure to bring comparisons to James Gandolfini’s bodyguard role in Get Shorty (1995) - but with an added twist: this time around the bodyguard is flamboyantly gay. It’s kinda odd to see muscle-bound man’s man The Rock acting so flamboyant, but he does a decent job in the role nonetheless.

He has already been touted as “the next Arnold Schwarzenegger”, but luckily Be Cool shows that The Rock is able to perform decently in comedic films as well (unlike Arnie). The Rock does seem a bit out of place in comedy, but that oddness adds to the comedic value of his performance, rather than detracting from it (happily though, he’s headed back into action films with Doom (2005)).

Harvey Keitel, Cedric the Entertainer, Christina Milian, André Benjamin, Vince Vaughn and the rest of the big name stars give decent performances in Be Cool, with Cedric standing out as the best of the bunch and Vaughn portraying such an annoying character the viewer probably won’t want to see him in anything else for a little while - at least until the memory fades of his annoying gangsta wannabe.

Cedric does a great job of juggling the dual roles of mild-mannered father figure and gang leader, and really showcases what he could achieve in bigger roles (unfortunately, he’s already slipped back into slapstick with The Honeymooners). He’s one of those actors who seem to have something decent, but are never really given the chance to show what they can do. Hopefully he will be able to do so in the foreseeable future.

Some of the scenes of Be Cool (such as the WMD’s facing off with Edie and Chili Palmer in the offices of NTL) could almost be superimposed with scenes from Get Shorty (1995). Sure, Chili has gone from movie producer to record producer in this film, but that’s just a change of venue, not a change of plot.

The film feels like a remake, rather than a sequel. Think about it: Get Shorty (1995)’s Rene Russo = Be Cool’s Uma Thurman; Delroy Lindo = Harvey Keitel; James Gandolfini = The Rock; Danny DeVito = Steven Tyler, and the list goes on. It’s unfortunate, since the similarities between the two films are so great, it detracts from the viewer’s interest in this film somewhat, since it’s obviously the inferior of the two.

Unfortunately, it seems Be Cool is the sequel made by Hollywood. Sure, it’s based on Elmore Leonard’s novel, but the novel gave the same impression the film does: Hollywood wanted a sequel, and paid Elmore a huge amount to churn something out. In doing so, he lost a lot of the originality he’s known for, opting for the quick buck over a quality sequel. It’s too bad, but that’s the way the Hollywood machine works. It’s not the first time this has happened - just look at The Lost World: Jurassic Park II, based on the quick sequel novel by Michael Crichton.

Luckily, the fresh blood in this film help Travolta’s Chili Palmer keep the movie flowing, making Be Cool fun to watch despite the quick buck feel of the film.

Be Cool is worth checking out - but it’s definitely no Get Shorty (1995).