BE COOL (2005) - ♦

Directed by - F. Gary Gray

Written by - Peter Steinfeld (based on a novel by Elmore Leonard)

Starring - John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Ben Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, André Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Danny DeVito

 

"John Travolta returns as film producer Chili Palmer. In Be Cool, he tries his luck at the music industry and contends for an uprising popstar sensation. However, he soon realises that in the music industry, not everybody plays by the rules. 

 

Considering the moderate success of the previous film Get Shorty and the size of the star studded cast, one would have expected some degree quality from its sequel Be Cool. However, all that does is make the film an even greater scaled disappointment. The story is impossibly intricate, and really hardly has any energy or pathos. The characters are very unappealing, and this highly affects any interest the viewer might take on the narrative. 

 

In fact, in the end, it seems the only way this flat and annoying film tries to make up for its lack in originality, bite or any redeeming factor is through a pathetic mixture of cultural references and random messy cameos, and tries to blatantly cash in on the iconic leading pairing up of John Travolta and Uma Thurman, dance sequence included, which openly aims to recall their big screen meeting in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction."

 

Comedy, USA