Get Shorty (1995)
Key Takeaways
- In this Get Shorty 1995 review, the podcast crew breaks down how John Travolta delivers one of his coolest and most controlled performances as loan shark Chili Palmer.
- Gene Hackman shines in a comedic role playing B-movie producer Harry Zimm completely straight amidst escalating Hollywood chaos.
- The hosts explore Elmore Leonard's distinct writing style, emphasizing natural dialogue and the simple philosophy that if writing sounds like writing, you should rewrite it.
- Dennis Farina steals scenes as Ray "Bones" Barboni, bringing relentless aggression and comedic relief by refusing to get sucked into Hollywood's endless bullshit machine.
- Dan returns from his extended sabbatical to join Whitey and Gow for a classic 90s crime flick deep dive packed with banter and nostalgia.
The boys are heading back to the decade of slick crime flicks, sharp dialogue and Hollywood cool for our Get Shorty 1995 Movie Review. This is peak John Travolta, riding the post-Pulp Fiction wave; Gene Hackman is doing comedy without really doing comedy, and Dennis Farina has arrived to swear at practically everyone in Los Angeles.
Welcome back to Born to Watch, the Movie Review Podcast where we don't take the movies or ourselves too seriously.
This week Whitey and Gow are joined by a returning Dan, who has finally wandered back into the studio after his extended sabbatical. It doesn't take long before old stories, old insults and the questionable exploits of 1990s G start flying around the room.
But eventually, somehow, we get to Get Shorty.
Adapted from the Elmore Leonard novel and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Get Shorty drops loan shark Chili Palmer into Hollywood and quickly discovers that the movie business might be even more crooked than organised crime. Chili comes to Los Angeles chasing money and ends up chasing something completely different, a shot at the movies.
And nobody could play Chili Palmer quite like John Travolta.
The boys dig into Travolta's incredible mid-'90s resurgence and why Chili might be one of his coolest performances. This isn't the dialled-up Travolta of Face/Off or the villainous version from Broken Arrow. Chili is controlled, confident, charismatic and almost impossible to rattle. As Whitey puts it, he's basically Vincent Vega without the heroin problem.
Then there's Gene Hackman as B-movie producer Harry Zimm. Hackman was apparently reluctant to play comedy, which makes his performance even better. He plays Harry almost completely straight while chaos unfolds around him, and the result is bloody funny.
Rene Russo brings Karen Flores to life, Danny DeVito sends up the Hollywood superstar as Martin Weir, Delroy Lindo is outstanding as Bo Catlett, and a pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini turns up as Bear.
But then there's Dennis Farina.
Farina's Ray "Bones" Barboni has no interest in becoming a producer, landing a movie deal or joining Hollywood's endless bullshit machine. He wants his money. That's it. His delivery, aggression, and complete inability to understand why everyone else is suddenly obsessed with making movies produce some of the episode's biggest laughs. By the time the boys get to Star of the Show, Farina is very much in the conversation.
The real star, however, might be the dialogue.
The boys talk about how Get Shorty captures Elmore Leonard's distinctive rhythm, humour and effortless conversations. Whitey remembers absolutely hammering this movie after first seeing it at Hoyts with the boys, watching it repeatedly on VHS because he loved the back-and-forth between the characters.
That leads perfectly into Film School for F-Wits, where Dan dives into Elmore Leonard. Get Shorty was Leonard's favourite adaptation of his work, and the boys explore the run that also gave us Jackie Brown and Out of Sight. Dan also breaks down Leonard's famous approach to writing, including natural dialogue, avoiding unnecessary exposition and one beautifully simple philosophy: if your writing sounds like writing, rewrite it.
There's also plenty buried in Listen to This, including the actors considered for Chili Palmer, Danny DeVito originally being lined up for the role, James Gandolfini's performance attracting the attention of David Chase, Tarantino's connection to the project and Travolta's determination to protect Leonard's dialogue.
Add The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, 1995 movie memories, Quickfire, quotables and the G-Man's wonderfully ridiculous Born to Get Shorty Kick Arse Credit Song, and we've got ourselves another proper Born to Watch outing.
Is Get Shorty still one of the smartest crime comedies of the '90s?
Does Travolta's Chili Palmer remain one of cinema's coolest operators?
And can Dennis Farina steal an entire movie simply by being Dennis Farina?
There's only one way to find out.
Join Whitey, Gow and Dan as Born to Watch heads to Hollywood, where everybody wants to be in the movie business, even the gangsters.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Get Shorty 1995 about?
Get Shorty follows Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who travels to Los Angeles to collect a debt from a bankrupt film producer and instead discovers a new calling in the movie business.
Who stars in Get Shorty (1995)?
The film features an all-star cast including John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, and James Gandolfini.
Is Get Shorty based on a book?
Yes, the movie is based on Elmore Leonard's acclaimed 1990 novel of the same name, which Leonard himself considered his favourite adaptation of his work.
Who hosts the Born To Watch podcast episode on Get Shorty 1995?
This episode is hosted by Whitey, Gow, and returning guest Dan, who dive deep into the film with their signature casual and comedic movie review style.
