Get Shorty

Pros: funny, fast moving flick
Cons: not a real classic

In my Book vs. Movie series I have covered a few great literary writers like Hubert Selby Jr, Anthony Burgess and Jerzy Kozinski. They had their novels translated into movies years later. These writers are highly regarded ...

Pros: funny, witty, charming - because every character wants something
Cons: copied to death, making it harder to enjoy today

Get Shorty is a kind of poker game between three types of players: those who believe in themselves, those who don't, and those who overshoot the mark. It's also the meeting of three worlds: Miami thugdom, Hollywood and post-80s Suburbia. Think of it as ...

Pros: a great story that's well told, great acting
Cons: perhaps a little cheesy at times

The first time I ever heard of "Get Shorty", it was by listening to the book-on-tape version during a cross country trip. All I remember of it was that it had a good pace, and was fun to listen to. When the film version came out in 1995, I...

Pros: A hilarious movie about the mob
Cons: Foul language yet essential to the characters

Full of memorable and hilarious lines, Get Shorty is the best "mob" comedy film I have ever seen. John Travolta positively shines in the character of Chili Palmer, a "good-guy" loan shark for the mob who finds himself in...

Pros: cast, script, characters, story, entertaining
Cons: a little too hip, some stereotyping, 'look at me' overdone

After Travolta made his big comeback with Pulp Fiction, he was able to get better leading roles. These featured his engaging, confident charm, which are best put to use in comedies. Travolta doesn't get to dance in Get Shorty. Otherwise,...

Pros: Great cast, clever script.
Cons: None

Adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel, GET SHORTY is the tale of a shylock (money-collector) for the mob with a passion for the movies. When a debtor skips town and winds up in Los Angeles, the shylock follows and soon becomes embroiled, much to his...

Pros: Great performances synergize with Leonard's razor-sharp wit.
Cons: It's a long one; Farina's character's brutality jars with the happy-go-lucky feel.

A big-name Hollywood actor is eating breakfast with his rock-star girlfriend at a posh L.A. cafe. "Every morning, he faces west so he can look at his billboard," explains B-movie veteran Karen (Rene Russo) to West Coast newcomer Chili Palmer...

Pros: As has been said of the book: Blisteringly Brilliant.
Cons: None.

Get Shorty

Directed by Barry Sonnenfield (Men In Black)

Written by Scott Frank (Out of Sight)

Starring John Travolta, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina

I cannot exercise my creative skills...

Pros: the acting and plot
Cons: Gene Hackman gets on my nerves

Movie Summary:

Loan shark Chili Palmer (John Travolta) has done his time as a gangster. So when "business" takes him to Los Angeles to collect a debt from down-and-out filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), Chili talks...

Pros: Danny DeVito
Cons: Lame, lame, lame all around

GET SHORTY is almost as lame as the book it was based on.

John Travolta plays Chili Palmer, a loan shark who gets involved in a movie project with Harry Zimm [Gene Hackman], a schlock movie producer who owes him money. One of their main goals...

Pros: witty and fun
Cons: bad language

I had no desire to see this movie in the theatres, but my husband convinced me to watch it with him on video. I did not expect to like it, and found that I was 100% wrong!

The banter alone was amusing enough to carry the story. The...

Pros: Fantastic Story and Cast
Cons: No Sequel

Take the comedy of Raising Arizona and combine it with the action of Goodfellas and what do you get? Get Shorty of course! This is an outstanding film that breeds comedy and action and produces a film that hooks the audience. The characters are so...

Pros: Good actors, plot, comedy.
Cons: I didn't get to see the ending due to scratched disk.

Starring some of Hollywood's best actors (John Travolta, Danny DeVito, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman, and Dennis Farina), Get Shorty is probably one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Chilli Palmer (John Travolta), is a shylock. ...

Pros: Great Script, great acting, great movie.
Cons: Delroy Lindo's part wasn't essential to the movie.

Get Shorty is a movie stationed in Los Angeles dealing with movie executives. In Get Shorty, Gene Hackman owes 150,000 to a loan shark. In order to get out of this debt, Gene Hackman allows for this loan shark to produce a hit movie. This is where Danny...

Pros: funny, faithful, and cool
Cons: none

This adaptation of the Elmore Leonard book of the same name is great vehicle for John Travolta. He is perfect as the movie's "hero" Chili Palmer. He lends credit both to Leonard, whose books don't often get this treatment from Hollywood, and...