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In short, Get Shorty was a fantastic film, and still
is.
What was missing from the sequel? How about an energetic
and inspired performance from Travolta? How about an interesting
storyline? What about jokes? An interesting bunch of supporting
characters to rival the ones played by Dennis Farina, James
Gandolfini and Delroy Lindo in the original? Anything resembling
a blueprint?
Based on the book by Elmore Leonard, “Get Shorty”
was one of the smartest films of its year. A true piss-take
on Hollywood, it was the perfect follow-up for comeback king
John Travolta – a year after Pulp Fiction, this
was – and the best film retool of a Leonard novel to
date. Whenever it wasn’t one hundred percent loyal to
the design, it was merely injecting something new for the
movie’s benefit.
Travolta, looking as cool as ever with his greased slick-backed
hair-do and designer suits, played mobster-turned-film-producer,
Chili Palmer. Gene Hackman – in a rare comedy role –
plays the C-grade producer who gets him his start, and Rene
Russo – still looking as fine as silver – plays
the love interest.
It’s not as simple as a three line synopsis though,
there’s a whole interweaving number of imaginative sub-plots
going on at the same time, and by the film’s last five
minutes, they come together, Travolta comes off looking uber-cool,
and director Barry Sonnenfeld gets a deserved put-on-the-back
for being so dedicated to the lexis of Leonard. It’s
a cornucopia of radiance.
DVD Extras
Extras on the new collectors edition DVD – released
to coincide with the theatrical release of the lacklustre
sequel – include a two-part newly-recorded documentary
that serves as a making-of, featuring interviews with most
of the main cast and crew.
Next up, ‘Page to Screen’ is an episode of a TV
show, hosted by Peter Gallagher, which retraces the journey
of “Get Shorty” from book to film. It’s all
rather interesting, even if it does repeat on some of the
things in above featurettes.
In addition, there’s a piece called “Going On”
(which is merely Danny DeVito, being, well, DeVito), a party
reel, a deleted scene, and a peak, of course, at the sequel.
Barry Sonnenfeld also provides commentary – but that’s
a fairly mind-numbing affair.
Conclusion: Movie 90% Extras 75%
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