THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510200070
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
BIG-TIME CRIME meets Hollywood in the often hilarious and always entertaining ``Get Shorty,'' the film version of Elmore Leonard's comic-thriller novel. Most of the thrills, and many of the plot twists, are gone from the movie version, but the laughs are there in abundance.
John Travolta, proving that his ``Pulp Fiction'' comeback was no fluke, is cool and assured as Chili Palmer, a loan shark from Miami who is sent to Hollywood to collect $150,000 from low-budget director Harry Zimm, played by Gene Hackman.
When the loan shark gets there, though, he forgets about getting rough in favor of pitching his own idea for a movie to the director.
Palmer is one of those guys who is closest to heaven when he's in a movie theater. It's just about the only thing that quiets him down. He's star struck. He doesn't know that Harry Zimm is pretty low on the pecking order in Hollywood. Travolta may well net another Oscar nomination for the role.
Hackman is quite funny because he never lets on, for a second, that he knows he's meant to be funny. Playing it straight all the way, he models Zimm's 1970s outfits, complete with gold chains and bell bottoms, to suggest he's lost in another time.
``Grotesque'' and ``Slime People'' are Zimm's most recent movies. For the movie-within-the-movie, Hackman proudly declares that ``it won't have any maniacs. It'll be my `Driving Miss Daisy.' ''
But the movie-within-the-movie needs a big name star and the biggest is Martin Weir, the shorty of the title, played by Danny DeVito.
Rene Russo, who seems to specialize in co-starring with every male superstar in the business (Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman), is fun in a bad wig. She plays a B-budget actress who is a scream-queen veteran of horror flicks. She also is the former wife of Weir, so she goes along for the sales pitch.
While the comedy is often on-target, the plot is pretty convoluted. Dennis Farina has a funny turn as a tough guy who wants his money and has no interest whatsoever in movies. Bette Midler, Harvey Keitel and Penny Marshall have guest cameos.
The plot keeps getting in the way. The final caper is the long-winded price you have to pay for the comedy. The tension, and even suspense, from the novel has not been carried over.
But most of the lines are zingers. There might be some concern that those who are not insiders in the movie industry might not go for these jokes. Comedies about Hollywood have not done well in the past. This one should be an exception.
But, as someone points out, ``What's the point of living in L.A. unless you're in the movie business?'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
by CNB