Before "Pulp Fiction" hit the scene about a year ago and changed the face of modern Hollywood, John Travolta was a trivia item who was often laughed at, with little more than "Saturday Night Fever" and "Look Who's Talking" on his resumŽ.
Now, he's one of the big screen's most prized leading men.
Travolta stars as Chili Palmer, a literate movie fan who also happens to be in the loan shark business in Miami. He's a very likable character who is courteous and stylish, but he also knows how to take care of business by cracking the bones of anyone who gets in his way.
The story of "Get Shorty" is pretty complex.
Palmer is trying to hunt down a sleazy little guy named Leo who owns a dry cleaning business in Miami. He owes a lot of money to Ray Barboni (who, played by Dennis Farina, almost steals the show), a Miami crime kingpin. The problem is that Leo decided to get out of town, but his plane crashes. You see, Leo got off the plane before it took off, so he didn't get killed, but everyone thinks he did.
Palmer ends up in Las Vegas looking for Leo.
While he's there, he finds out that Leo is in Los Angeles. The owner of a Vegas casino wants him to check on some other business in L.A. that deals with the excessive gambling debt of a horror movie producer, Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman).
At this point, you really have to pay attention to what is going on. The film is so fast-paced that it's easy to get lost. Money is an important factor in the movie, and sometimes it's hard to remember who owes who how much.
The thing is, if you do keep up, you'll be in for a treat.
Palmer tracks Zimm to the house of an actress, Karen (Rene Russo), who appeared in several of Zimm's films. Palmer is watching television one night while Karen and Zimm are sleeping. Karen hears something, and Zimm reluctantly checks it out. Palmer surprises him, and after the customary tough guy talk, he ends up talking about movies, and more specifically, an idea for his own movie, which is the story of Leo and the plane crash and all that mess.
Hackman, who rarely slacks in any of his roles, once again does a great job. As the slimy movie producer, he is one of the funnier characters in the film. He's a bit clumsy and foolish, and you feel sorry for him.
Russo is good as the actress who does little more than scream in Zimm's slasher movies. Chili becomes hooked on her the minute he sees her, and it's just a matter of time before she comes around.
As the story progresses, more gangsters and more money become involved, which doesn't make it any easier to keep score. It seems that Chili's movie idea has become popular, and everyone wants to be involved with its production. The biggest part of the puzzle is the fact that the biggest movie star in the world, Martin Weir, is also very interested.
Weir, played by Danny DeVito, is very entertaining as he serves up a memorable performance.
If you look carefully, you'll see that his picture is on billboards everywhere, and especially on the cover of every magazine in a bookstore. He is up for the role of Chili in the story, and he is willing to do research and "get inside the head" of the characters that he plays. Chili himself helps motivate him in the right direction.
"Get Shorty" is tremendous fun as a gangster comedy that ends up in Hollywood. All the performers give enthusiastic performances which add to the good time.
It's interesting to see how much influence "Pulp Fiction" has had on the movie world in just a year's time, and "Get Shorty" draws bits and pieces from it, from the music to the characters to the dialogue. If you go to the movies this weekend, "Get Shorty." You'll be glad you did.