GET SHORTY

"GET SHORTY"
(1995) (John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	None	Moderate	Minor	Heavy

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	None	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Extreme	Minor	Minor	Heavy

QUICK TAKE:: A loan shark goes to L.A. to collect money and ends up making movies.

PLOT:: Chili Palmer (JOHN TRAVOLTA), a loan shark from Miami, heads to Los Angeles to collect money on a gambling debt owed by Harry Zimm (GENE HACKMAN), a low budget film producer. Chili breaks into Karin Flores' (RENE RUSSO) home to find Harry, and ever the movie buff, he pitches a idea to Harry about a dry cleaner on the run with a bunch of money, which just happens to be true story. But Harry has his own script he wants to produce, as well as some rough investors led by Bo (DELROY LINDO) who want to know what's happening with their money. Thrown into the mix are Ray "Bones" Barboni (DENNIS FARINA), the new Miami crime lord who doesn't like Chili, and Martin Weir (DANNY DEVITO), a big Hollywood star who's interested in both Harry's and Chili's movie ideas. They all mix together as some look for their money while others try to make their movies.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Travolta, once again the big screen darling, is a big draw and kids just might want to see this one based on his resurgent career.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language and some violence.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: JOHN TRAVOLTA plays the cocky loan shark with an encyclopedia of movie trivia inside his head. He wants to leave the organized crime world and enter the movie world, but he still uses violence to achieve his goals. He does however, have a way of making friends even with those who want to harm him.
GENE HACKMAN plays the weak back boned producer of low grade, low budget films.
RENE RUSSO plays a low budget actress who ends up sleeping with both Harry and Chili and works to make their film projects a reality.
DANNY DEVITO plays a conceited, but likeable Hollywood star.; GENE HACKMAN plays the weak back boned producer of low grade, low budget films.
RENE RUSSO plays a low budget actress who ends up sleeping with both Harry and Chili and works to make their film projects a reality.
DANNY DEVITO plays a conceited, but likeable Hollywood star.; RENE RUSSO plays a low budget actress who ends up sleeping with both Harry and Chili and works to make their film projects a reality.
DANNY DEVITO plays a conceited, but likeable Hollywood star.; DANNY DEVITO plays a conceited, but likeable Hollywood star.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Harry and Chili have drinks while discussing Chili's movie idea.
In a scene from Chili's movie, a character is seen drinking at an airport bar.
The dry cleaner pours himself a drink in his hotel room.
Bo is seen having a drink.
Harry has a drink at a restaurant.
Bo drinks wine.
Harry has a drink in his house and he pours a drink for the wife of the dead screenwriter who wrote his script.
A man has a drink in a limo.

BLOOD/ GORE: Just a bruised Harry after he's been beaten up.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Chili breaks into Karin's house to find Harry and waits for them to come downstairs.
A dry cleaner who's faked his death in a plane crash, cashes in on his insurance policy anyway.
Chili states that he's been "picked up" for loan sharking and racketeering, but never convicted.
Ray will do anything to get his money. So, he hits the wife of a man whose run off with some of his money.
Bo takes Karin hostage in order to get money from Chili.

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: Any of the times when someone's holding a gun on someone else might be considered as a tense scene, but never is it played out as such.

GUNS/WEAPONS: All of the following incidents involve handguns:
Ray enters Chili's office with his gun drawn, but Chili is waiting and fires his gun, just grazing Ray's head.
One of Harry's investors points a gun at him, saying he's "as dead as disco" if they don't get their money back.
Chili jokes that he's going to take a gun and put it to Martin's head to get him to star in the movie.
There is a clip from the movie, "Touch of Evil" where Orson Welles fires his gun at Charlton Heston, but ends up getting shot himself.
Chili makes the comment, "Sometimes you do your best work with a gun to your head."
Bo shoots a guy in the chest (there to collect money) and he falls off a balcony.
Ray shoots one of Bo's associates several times.
Hearing an intruder downstairs, Chili asks Karin if she has a gun and she says no.
Bo fires several shots at Chili and then holds the gun on Karin.
Bo holds his gun on his bodyguard telling him to calm down and then holds it on Chili.
Karin picks up a gun and fires it at the bodyguard whom she thinks is trying to kill Chili.
Ray holds his gun on Chili and then places it to his head.
There is fake gunfire in a movie rehearsal.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Piss off," "Jack off," and "Babe."

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 96 "f" words (2 used sexually, 1 with the prefix "mother"), 22 "s" words, 8 "ass" words, 7 hells, 2 SOB's, 3 slang terms for penis (the "d" and "p" words), and one use each of "damn" and "crap." In addition there are 10 uses of "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ," 8 of "For Christ's sake," and one each of "My God," "God damn," and "For God's sake" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Two women are seen in skimpy bikinis.
Harry and Karin are seen in bed together (implying sex).
In a scene from Chili's movie, a man pats a woman on the butt.
Martin leers after Karin, his ex-wife, and tries to kiss her on the mouth, but she turns her head.
Karin states that at one time she walked around in "...f*ck me pumps."
Karin is seen in her bikini underwear.
Karin says that her marriage to Martin was fine until he ran off to have sex with another woman.
The wife of a dead screenwriter comes over to seduce Harry. When she spins around, she's seen in a teddy and she comes over and starts kissing him. He says "I don't know how I feel about this." She feels his crotch and says, "You seem to feel fine."
Chili and Karin kiss and then are seen in bed together (implying that they had sex).
Martin talks about two screen characters saying that there should be romance, that the two shouldn't just "hop in the sack."

SMOKING: Chili smokes throughout the movie as does Harry.
Many other supporting character smoke (cigarettes and cigars) throughout the movie.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Karin says that her marriage to Martin was fine until he ran off to have sex with another woman.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Loan sharks and what they do.

VIOLENCE: Chili punches Ray in the face for having taken his coat at a restaurant (and ends up breaking his nose).
Ray goes to Chili's office with his gun drawn, ready for revenge, but Chili is waiting for him and fires his own gun. The bullet just grazes Ray's head.
Chili's out of shape boss keels over from a heart attack after having a surprise party erupt before him.
One of Ray's henchmen holds barbers' shears to Chili's neck.
In a scene from Chili's movie, an airliner crashes during take off from an airport.
In a scene from Chili's movie, a woman slaps a man after he pats her on the butt.
One of Harry's investors points a gun at him, saying he's "as dead as disco" if they don't get their money back.
Ray punches the dry cleaner's wife in the face for lying to him.
Chili jokes that he's going to take a gun and put it to Martin's head to get him to star in the movie.
There is a clip from the movie, "Touch of Evil" where Orson Welles fires his gun at Charlton Heston, but ends up getting shot himself.
Bo shoots a guy in the chest (there to collect money) and he falls off a balcony.
Bo's bodyguard threatens Chili, who in turn grabs the guy by the crotch and then tosses him down a flight of stairs. Chili then informs Bo that he should leave before he cleans up the floor with him.
Later, Chili encounters the bodyguard again and kicks him in the shin and then in the gut, dropping the guy to the ground.
A man threatens Bo and states that he'll have his men "...staple your tongue to your chin."
Ray hits Harry across the face with a book and then overturns his desk. He throws Harry into the wall and beats him up and places his foot down onto Harry's neck. Then one of Bo's associates enters and mouths off to Ray. Ray in turn shoots him dead.
Bo fires his gun at Chili and then grabs Karin and takes her hostage.
Bo holds his gun on his bodyguard telling him to calm down.
Bo holds his gun on Chili and says, "I can't wait for you to be dead." The bodyguard then hits Chili in the face and then hits and kicks him in the stomach. This beating continues out onto a balcony where the bodyguard then pushes Chili into Bo knocking both of them off the balcony. Karin grabs a gun and fires it at the bodyguard, but stops when she sees that he's pulling Chili up.
Ray holds his gun on Chili and then places it to his head, demanding his money.
There is fake gunfire in a movie rehearsal.

Reviewed July 3, 1996

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