It would probably be tough to give you a proper review of the upcoming MGM DVD release of “Be Cool” without first bringing you up to speed about its predecessor, “Get Shorty.” Both films are based on the work of author Elmore Leonard, who at 80, is still considered to be the coolest of the cool. Since 1953, Leonard’s crime novels and western epics have thrilled readers, due to his knack for writing witty and clever dialogue for his equally interesting characters. The main character of the movies in question is one Chili Palmer (John Travolta), a small time Miami loan shark who ends up searching for a mark in L.A.. While there, he gets caught up in the movies business and pretty much muscles his way into becoming a movie producer. This is of course making a long story short, as both the original book and the movie (directed by Barry Sonnenfeld) of “Get Shorty” are wholly entertaining.

In the sequel, “Be Cool”, Travolta returns to the role and is as ‘hip’ as ever. But now we find that Palmer has grown a bit bored of the movie business and decides to try his hand at record producing. But as things in the life of Chili Palmer are never simple, he winds up mixed up with and up-and-coming singer (Christina Milian), a sleazy music executive (Vince Vaughn), his dead friend’s widow (Uma Thurman) and the Russian Mob.

As you can tell from the cast mentioned above, the producers of the film spared no expense in rounding up as eclectic of a cast as possible. This was also the case for the first film, and here we ad the likes of The Rock (as a gay bodyguard, no less), Cedric the Entertainer (who is actually a lot less entertaining than his moniker suggests), James Woods, Harvey Keitel, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) and Andre Benjamin (Outkast). Normally these last two would be questionable in terms of acting, but I’ll have to admit that Andre Benjamin really stands out as having the chops to become a pretty good actor. I saw him recently on an episode of “The Shield” and though he did a great job.

While I can’t honestly say that “Be Cool” was anywhere near as good as “Get Shorty”, it was still a very entertaining movie to watch. Part of the problem I felt, was that it really needed Sonnenfeld’s deft direction to bring back the ‘cool.’ Director f. Gary Gray does a serviceable job, but little about the film really stands out beyond the dialogue. There are a couple great moments, though including the re-pairing of Travolta and Thurman on the dance floor. Fans of “Pulp Fiction” will undoubtedly get a kick out of this scene.

The extra features on the new DVD release are varied but plentiful. The main feature is a 20 minute documentary piece on the making of the film, and delivers a closer look at the characters and the film itself than it does the technical aspects. You’ll also find some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and five shorter featurettes. The last few featurettes focus the dancing, The Rock, Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000), Cedric the Entertainer and Christina Milian. The best feature though, has to be the music video for The Rock’s character (Elliot Wilhelm) performing “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man.” If the thought of The Rock playing a gay bodyguard isn’t funny enough, you gotta see this video.

“Be Cool” doesn’t have as much of the comedic flair that made “Get Shorty” such a great film. Occasionally the film bogs down from all of the storylines going on at once, but it is still a satisfying film, and definitely worth a watch.

Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Robert Pastorelli, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, The Rock, Danny DeVito
Extras: “Be Cool, Be Very Cool” Making of Documentary, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Music Video: The Rock as Elliot Wilhelm “You Ain’t woman Enough to Take my Man”, Close-up Featurettes on: The Rock, Andre 3000, Cedric the Entertainer, Christina Milian
Specifications: Widescreen (2.40:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 6/7/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Violence, Sensuality and Language, including Sexual References
Website

We'll give Be Cool a B-.