Today’s quick review: Get Shorty. Chili Palmer (John Travolta), a Miami loan shark, travels to Los Angeles to collect a debt for Ray Bones (Dennis Farina). While he’s there, Chili makes friends with movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) and horror actress Karen Flores (Rene Russo). Sensing a chance to break into show business, Chili helps Harry put together a new movie project and pay off the money he owes to Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo).
Get Shorty is a crime comedy about a loan shark who finagles his way into a job as a movie producer. Chili’s talent for solving problems makes him a natural fit for Hollywood, cutting through bad deals, attempts at intimidation, and actor hesitancy to get the job done. His unorthodox tactics give Harry the chance to pull off the deal of his career, but only if they can string along Bo long enough to pay their debt.
Get Shorty has a knack for chaos. Chili, Ray, Harry, and Bo are all working their own angles to get a piece of the cash that’s at stake, including a briefcase of money Bo put up for a drug deal, the massive contract Harry signed for his next film, and the small fortune in fraudulent insurance money Chili was sent to collect. Seeing the men trick, negotiate with, and outmaneuver each other is one of the great joys of the movie.
Get Shorty also gets its characters right. Chili Palmer is just tough enough without being ridiculous, and his calm, polite demeanor contrasts nicely with the chaos around him. Harry is a producer whose creative accounting has landed him in hot water, while his girlfriend and former star Karen acts as the voice of reason. Ray and Bo round out the cast as offbeat criminals who think they can make a fortune by ripping off Chili.
Try Get Shorty if you enjoy quirky characters, sharp dialogue, and convoluted plots that tie together neatly at the end. Get Shorty takes an odd route to get to its destination, following Chili on an adventure with no clear endpoint in mind, but dynamic characters and smartly chosen plot threads see the movie through to a satisfying finish.
For a crime comedy that takes a similar approach toward criminal enterprise, try The Whole Nine Yards. For a darker comedy with a similar attitude and a Hollywood setting, try The Nice Guys. For an even more chaotic crime comedy, try Lucky Number Slevin, Snatch, The Gentlemen, or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. For a more dramatic, stylized crime film starring John Travolta, try Pulp Fiction.
[6.9 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113161/). I give it a 7.0 to 7.5 for clever writing and a great cast.