It’s Sunday night again, a new work week looming large over your evening, not to mention the worries of the world just outside your door. What you need is a breezy, carefree viewing experience in which to lose yourself for an hour or so. As ever, I, your trusty guide in such cinematic proceedings, have curated just such a film for you. So dim the lights, liberate your favourite ice cream from its icy banishment in the freezer, pour yourself a nice glass of wine, pop some buttery popcorn, or whatever snacks and treats your prefer. For our Sunday Night Movie this week, we will be going back to the cinematic treasure trove that is the 1990’s and we will be plunging the depths to find Get Shorty, the oft forgotten 1995 classic directed by Barry Sonnenfeld based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name. The big implication of the film is that the movie business and the mobster business are maybe not as dissimilar as we, the average moviegoers might expect, and the satire really lands.
Professional film critics would have you believe that high stakes are the key to the narrative of a movie, not necessarily the threat of the world ending or endangering a city, but personal stakes for the characters that we as the audience feel. I don’t disagree, stakes are one of the keys to making us invest in the story of the characters and their narrative arcs. But I also put forth that sometimes it’s nice to watch a movie with low or no stakes, where we just put it on and breeze through, and are never actually concerned about the well being of the characters. Sure, they are put in dangerous situations and there are stakes for them, but we are not made to feel those stakes ourselves, and we can just enjoy the ride. Get Shorty is just such a movie.
Get Shorty stars John Travolta as Chili Palmer, an effortlessly cool loan shark who’s usually the smartest person in the room, who’s disposition is very reasonable, logical and even tempered. He actually connects with and likes people, so he’s a little disillusioned with his current occupation. So when one of the subjects of his loan sharking turns out to be loser B movie producer/ director Harry Zimm, Gene Hackman in a wonderful comedic turn, Chili sees his chance to change professions and get into the movie business. Chili joins forces and becomes romantically involved with B movie star Karen Flores, the always wonderful Rene Russo, who has become cynical about the movie business. Karen also helps Chili enlist the services of her ex husband, Martin Weir, an award winning acclaimed movie star played by Danny DeVito in a brilliant send up of actors and their egos.
The top billed names in Get Shorty are stacked to be sure with Travolta, Hackman, Russo and DeVito, but when you get down to the supporting cast, it really is a murderers row of a cast. You’ve got Delroy Lindo as Bo Catlett, a scheming, greedy and dim witted crime boss who’s ambitions far outweigh his capabilities. James Gandolfini as Bear, Bo’s good natured stunt man turned henchman who doesn’t really want to go along with his bosses ill conceived schemes. And then there’s the secret sauce. The special ingredient. The man, the myth the legend. Dennis Fucking Farina, the silver haired, mustachioed, former cop turned actor who made his bones playing various cops and mobsters throughout the years. Farina plays Ray “Bones” Barboni, Chili’s rival turned boss who inspires Chili to explore an change in profession.
Get Shorty is an absolutely breezy and pleasurable viewing experience. You’ll never find a more likeable and relatable loan shark, who is so endlessly cool. Travolta, fresh off his Pulp Fiction revival the year before is back in absolute top form and brings understated swagger and air of intelligence to the role that has you invested in him immediately. But you never worry about him, because that’s not the sort of movie we’re watching. Even when the rival mobsters get the drop on him, you never have to worry about Chili. But as I said, that’s exactly what we’re here for isn’t it. Stakes that don’t really concern us as viewers, we’re just here to watch a ridiculously cool loan shark outsmart a bunch of dim witted mobsters and maybe spark a little romance. What else could you want? A murderers row of a cast? Check. I hate to sound like an old man rambling about the days of yore, but they really just don’t make them like this anymore. I suppose it would be made as a 10 episode streaming service show, but at 1 hour 45 minutes the movie is just so lean, down to it’s fighting weight as it were, I think I prefer the sub 2 hour version. Anyways, what are you waiting for, bust out the popcorn, ice cream, wine, whatever and fire up Get Shorty. I promise it is just the tonic for your Sunday night blues.