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Chili Palmer, the thug who smooth-talked his way into a job as a film producer in Get Shorty, continues to be the perfect character for John Travolta. Palmer's big, square-shouldered, cigarette-slinging machismo, ice-blue stare, and self-control in the midst of Mexican standoffs are the epitome of "cool." And in the sequel, director F. Gary Gray's Be Cool, he even gets to dance.

But Be Cool is best described as "lukewarm." Like Get Shorty, it has all of the talents it needs to bring things to a rapid boil. But Gray and screenwriter Peter Steinfeld can't take this tepid material to anything more than a simmer. Gray seems unfocused and uninspired, and since his style lacks energy, he fails to muster any in us. The central conflict never convinces us to care.

It's a flimsy story drawn from Elmore Leonard's novel about a girl-group pop singer (Christina Milian) who wants to break free and release her inner diva. Chili Palmer, restless in the movie business, wants to help her find a better future. Furthermore, she can be his ticket to a new career, and provide the lift necessary for a sinking record company managed by his leggy friend Edie Athens (Uma Thurman). But first, Edie and Chili must liberate Linda from a five-year contract. To do that, they'll have to out-talk, outmaneuver, and outwit a heartless management kingpin (Harvey Keitel) and a sleazy manager (Vince Vaughn).

It's easy to imagine how much fun Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, Steven Soderbergh, or even Guy Ritchie would have had with the caper that follows, as slimy businessmen, producers, and even the Russian mafia wrestle for the contract of this promising pop singer. But Gray's approach is to move so lazily and half-heartedly along that a viewer's mind is likely to wander.

My full review is at Christianity Today Movies.

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) had a good time. "No one should go to Be Cool expecting much depth or consistency in the story line. The fun of this film is in watching the individual components. Elmore Leonard has peopled his novel with a cornucopia of unusual characters which Hollywood, true to form, delights in bringing to life. No one seems to be delighting more than The Rock, who is hysterical."

But Christopher Lyon (Plugged In) did not have a good time. "After 10 years, you've got to wonder who was asking for this sequel. After two hours, viewers will be wondering why they asked for a ticket. Be Cool is the perfect triple threat: stupid, boring and offensive. It's the whole package."

Annabelle Robertson (Crosswalk) says, "The main message in the film is that the music industry is full of gangsters—like that's a revelation. Everyone is pursuing their dream, and they aren't afraid to shoot someone else—or sleep with their best friend's widow—to get it. Pretty sordid stuff, especially when you add the overwhelming number of profanities and obscenities and a lot of shoot-em-dead violence."

Frederica Matthewes-Green (The National Review) is a fan of Get Shorty, but not its sequel. "Every once in awhile a comedy comes along that is bright and quirky enough that it lingers companionably in the mind a long time after. Get Shorty was one of those movies; the first time I saw it, I spent the ending credits wearing a big grin, thinking back over delicious scenes and wishing I could see more of those characters. Be Cool is a sequel that took ten years in coming, and now the reverse seems to be true: The characters are brassy, loud, and shallow, and there is a lot more of them on display than you really want to see."

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March (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49