Common Sense Note
Parents should know that this film contains scenes of violence, including gunplay, brief torture, and beatings where blood is spilled. One character's sadism may be upsetting for sensitive children. There are strong suggestions of sex, but nothing explicit onscreen, and we see two female characters in their underwear. Characters swear and drink in moderate amounts.
Families who watch will want to discuss the characters' approaches to problem solving. Is Chili's use of violence any different from that of the other gangsters in the film? What other, more realistic strategies does he use to get things done? What is his idea of "respect", how does it differ from that of the gangsters (and producers) around him, and how does that put him at an advantage?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Will Fertman
GET SHORTY is a tight, funny crime story that mature teenagers and their families may enjoy, provided they can stand some blood. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a very together Miami loan shark, calmly going through his day, trying to avoid violence and get the job done. However, when his patron Mafioso has a heart attack, he finds himself working for a brute (Dennis Farina), who sends him off to collect a paltry debt owed by the widow of a loser (David Paymer) who has died in a plane crash. As it turns out, his patron didn't die after all, and has skipped Miami with three hundred thousand dollars' worth of airline settlement money.
Chili tracks him to Los Angeles, where he takes on a side job, squeezing a small-time horror movie director (Gene Hackman). When Chili's ambitions go beyond thuggery, he sees an opportunity to go clean and leave it all behind. Chili the shark becomes Chili the producer, using his icy stare and sly charm to bring money and talent to a project that, if it gets off the ground, will be a guaranteed blockbuster. He's still got to settle things with his old boss though, a new mobster (Delroy Lindo), and convince Danny DeVito (playing himself) to work on the film.
Get Shorty never gets bogged down in the complicated plot. Instead, it takes a number of talented actors and lets them run with some juicy characters. Pretty much everyone in the movie has got a funny bit, and Travolta has good chemistry with Rene Russo, who plays a scream queen also yearning for something better. Parents should know that the level of violence in the film is pretty high, and not recommended for younger or more squeamish viewers.
Families who enjoyed this film may want to check two excellent adaptations of Elmore Leonard's novels, Jackie Brown and Out of Sight.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSome suggestion of sex, but not explicit. |
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ViolenceGunplay, brief torture, and beatings where blood is spilled. |
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LanguageVery strong language. |
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Message |
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Social BehaviorNo good role models. |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoDrinking. |
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