Movie Notes: Be Cool

September 3rd, 2008

= 1 star

Starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Cedric the Entertainer
Directed by F. Gary Gray

Synopsis

Mobster / movie producer Chili Palmer (John Travolta) enters the music business, weaving his way through various corrupt industry characters to break a rising star.

The Good

• Cameos galore.

The Bad

• The endless list of talented actors (Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Debi Mazar, Harvey Keitel, James Woods) eventually becomes a mark of shame since all fail to add up to anything watchable.
• This flick glorifies the worst aspects of Los Angeles culture (terrible fashion choices, entertainment industry glitz, style and surface over substance, banality). Example: A music deal is negotiated with Steven Tyler after a Laker’s Game in a sky box while smoking cigars. The “in” for the deal? Uma Thurman has an Aerosmith ass tattoo.
• A good sign of movie boredom is when one starts analyzing actors’ looks. I questioned the reality of the Rock’s facial hair. My wife thought Thurman looked like a goat, and we both concluded Travolta’s lower jaw is wider than his forehead, leading him to increasingly resemble a reptile. Apologies, but the movie itself wasn’t holding our interest.
• The real sad moment is when Travolta and Thurman share a dance, meant as  homage to Pulp Fiction, except in this case, it’s to a Black Eyed Peas song and no chemistry or crackle occurs. It’s just sad.

Conclusion

Big thumbs down Be Cool. Skip it.

IMDB: Be Cool
Wikipedia: Be Cool
Rotten Tomatoes: Be Cool