Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 03/24/1997
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French/Espanol
Sound: 5.1/2
Run Time: 105 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: MGM
A gangster is looking to get away from crooked deals and double-crossing people but ends up in the movie business anyway in this comic
crime story.
Chili Palmer (
John Travolta) is a Miami-based loan collector for the mob trying to collect a gambling debt. His assignment takes him to Hollywood to collect money from
Harry Zimm (
Gene Hackman), a mildly sleazy producer of low-budget
horror movies. Although
Chili intends to hurt
Harry if necessary, he takes a certain liking to him and an even keener interest in
Karen (
Rene Russo),
Harry's girlfriend, whom
Chili recognizes from
Harry's grade-B monster
epics. It seems
Harry has a script that he feels is Academy Award material, and he could get the project off the ground if he could get the right actor for the lead -- say, the well-respected but egocentric (and diminutive)
Martin Weir (
Danny DeVito).
Chili thinks he has a feel for the movie business and decides to see what he can do to persuade
Weir to get behind the project.
Chili soon finds himself hip deep in the film industry, which at least puts him in contact with a higher grade of scumbags than he's used to. But
Chili isn't the only criminal
Harry's been dealing with; he's been obtaining financing from
Bo Catlett (
Delroy Lindo), a drug dealer with a highly uncertain temperament. An intelligently constructed
crime story and a hilarious look at the absurdities of the film business,
Get Shorty was based on the novel of the same name by
Elmore Leonard;
Leonard based
Chili on a real-life former gangster of his acquaintance, though
Chili's model never worked in Hollywood.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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