| Get Shorty | |
| Distributor: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Released: | 1995-2019 |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $105,250,000 (2 films) |
| Gross: | $210,865,338 (2 films) |
The Get Shorty franchise consists of American gangster-comedies, including two theatrical films and a television series spin-off. Based on the titular novel by Elmore Leonard, the plot of the installments center around individuals within the criminal mafia organization, who are determined to leave the organization and pursue careers in the film and music industries. Featuring an cast ensemble, the story includes the realities of immoral conduct within various industries through the comedic lens.
The franchise as a whole has been met with mixed success. The original film received positive critical response, and successfully turned a financial profit in theaters. Alternatively, its sequel was met with negative reception by critics who called it inferior to its predecessor, and also earned less in its ticket sales at the box office. The spin-off television series however, was met with a range of reactions with some critics praising its approach, while others concluded that it was lacking in comparison to the original movie. Despite the mixed critical response, the show was deemed a success among audiences due to its viewership figures.
See main article: article and Get Shorty.
The 1990 American comedic-crime novel and its subsequent sequel were authored by Elmore Leonard, and both originally published through Delacorte Press. Serving as the basis for the film and television adaptations, both novels were met with positive reception. In Get Shorty, the plot follows a loan shark from Miami, Florida named Ernesto "Chili" Palmer, who works for the criminal mob and is tasked with traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada to retrieve an outstanding balance. In the process of doing so, the character determines that he wants to escape his past and pursue a career in the film industry.[1]
Leonard continued the plot in its 1999 sequel titled, Be Cool; which served as the basis for the titular film sequel. The plot details Chili Palmer's disenchantment with movie making, and his decision to pursue a career as a record producer instead. The plot details Palmer's continued attempts to escape his criminal past, all while realizing that there are illegal influences in many areas of society.[2]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get Shorty | Barry Sonnenfeld | Scott Frank | Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher | |
| Be Cool | F. Gary Gray | Peter Steinfeld | ||
See main article: Get Shorty (film).
Ernesto "Chili" Palmer, a mobster from Miami and works as a loan-shark for a violent and dangerous gangster named Ray "Bones" Barboni, is sent to Las Vegas to retrieve the funds from an outstanding loan. Meanwhile, Chili is also hired to recover some bad debt from a film producer named Harry Zimm. Upon confronting Zimm, Chili is introduced to the film crew: the star of a series of horror films, named Karen Flores; the financier of Zimm's drug-dealing, named Bo Catlett; and a Hollywood star who also happens to be Karen's ex, named Martin "Shorty" Weir. Chili soon finds that he and Karen have a romantic connection, and after discovering the filmmaking business, he pitches his own life story for Zimm's next movie. Chili quickly learns that his background as a part of the mob, comedically leads into the movie industry.[3] [4] [5]
See main article: Be Cool.
Years later, Ernesto "Chili" Palmer has grown disillusioned by the movie industry. After the poor reception to his most recent release, a studio mandated sequel film starring Martin "Shorty" Weir, Chili determines to pursue another industry instead. When his friend Tommy Athens who works as a recording studio executive is murdered, Chili offers to help his estranged widow named Edie run the record company. Determined to complete the goals of his deceased friend by introducing the world to his protégé, a feisty young R&B nightclub singer named Linda Moon; Chili begins using the negotiation skills from his past to manipulate events in favor of his goals. Though the music industry is different, Chili soon discovers that his mobster past intersects with the music industry upon coming into conflict with the Russian mafia, and a gangster rap group.[6] [7] [8]
See main article: Get Shorty (TV series).
Miles Daly as he works for a ruthless crimelord named Amara de Escalones and her nephew Yago. Miles has been looking for another profession as a means to reconnect with his estranged wife Katie, and eager to maintain his relationship with his daughter named Emma. When she sends Daly to Los Angeles alongside another enforcer named Louis to retrieve some debt from a screenwriter, Miles soon discovers an opportunity that he determines is too good to pass up. After reading the writer's unproduced script, he and Louis determine to steal it believing that it may be one of the greatest films never made. The duo approach a movie producer named Rick Moreweather and present their pitch for the story. As they begin working together to realize the project, Miles is surprised to find that his immoral background in the crime industry has a lot more in common with movie making than he had initially would have thought.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
| Character | Film | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get Shorty | Be Cool | Get Shorty | |
| Ernesto "Chili" Palmer | John Travolta | ||
| Harry Zimm | Gene Hackman | colspan="2" | |
| Karen Flores | Rene Russo | colspan="2" | |
| Martin "Shorty" Weir | Danny DeVito | ||
| Ray "Bones" Barboni | Dennis Farina | colspan="2" | |
| Bo Catlett | Delroy Lindo | colspan="2" | |
| Bear | James Gandolfini | colspan="2" | |
| Leo Devoe | David Paymer | colspan="2" | |
| Tommy Carlo | Martin Ferrero | colspan="2" | |
| Mr. Escobar | Miguel Sandoval | colspan="2" | |
| Ronnie Wingate | Jon Gries | colspan="2" | |
| Faye Devoe | Linda Hart | colspan="2" | |
| Edie Athens | Uma Thurman | ||
| Roger "Raji" Lowenthal | Vince Vaughn | ||
| Sin LaSalle | Cedric "the Entertainer" Kyles | ||
| Dabu | André Benjamin | ||
| Steven Tyler | Steven Tyler | ||
| Joseph "Joe Loop" Lupino | Robert Pastorelli | ||
| Linda Moon | Christina Milian | ||
| Hyman Gordon | Paul Adelstein | ||
| Nick Carr | Harvey Keitel | ||
| Elliott Wilhelm | Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson | ||
| Marla | Debi Mazar | ||
| Darryl | GregAlan Williams | ||
| Tommy Athens | James Woods | ||
| Roman Bulkin | Alex Kubik | ||
| Ivan Argianiyev | George Fisher | ||
| Miles Daly | Chris O'Dowd | ||
| Rick Moreweather | Ray Romano | ||
| Louis Darnell | Sean Bridgers | ||
| Emma "Shorty" Daly | Carolyn Dodd | ||
| Amara de Escalones | Lidia Porto | ||
| Yago de Escalones | Goya Robles | ||
| April Quinn | Megan Stevenson | ||
| Katie Daly | Lucy Walters | ||
| Gladys Parrish | Sarah Stiles | ||
| Giustino Moreweather | Peter Bogdanovich | ||
| Hafdis Snaejornsson | Peter Stormare | ||
| Tyler Mathias | Topher Grace | ||
| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer(s) | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| Get Shorty | John Lurie | Donald Peterman | Jim Miller | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Jersey Films | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1 hr 45 mins | |
| Be Cool | John Powell | Jeffrey L. Kimball | Sheldon Kahn | MGM Distribution Co. | 2 hrs | ||
| Get Shorty | Antonio Sánchez | Attila Szalay, M. David Mullen, Joseph E. Gallagher, and David Franco | David Dworetzky, Blake Maniquis, Keith Henderson, Annette Davey, Addison Donnell, Eli Nilsen, and Scott Vickrey | MGM Television, MGM/UA Television, Holmes Quality Yarnds Productions | Epix | 18 hrs | |
| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Worldwide net total income | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All-time North America | All-time worldwide | |||||
| Get Shorty | $72,101,622 | $43,000,000 | $115,101,622 |
|
| $30,250,000 | $84,851,622 | [14] [15] | |
| Be Cool | $56,046,979 | $39,716,737 | $95,763,716 | x̄ #1,632 | x̄ #2,320 | $75,000,000 | $20,763,716 | [16] [17] | |
| Totals | $128,148,601 | $82,716,737 | $210,865,338 |
|
| $105,250,000 | $105,615,338 | ||
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get Shorty | 88% (57 reviews)[18] | 82/100 (22 reviews)[19] | B+[20] | |
| Be Cool | 30% (170 reviews)[21] | 37/100 (38 reviews)[22] | B- | |
| Get Shorty | 78% (27 reviews)[23] | 71/100 (22 reviews)[24] |