Review of Be Cool (2005)

Hello all! Also on today's line up, I'll be reviewing "Be Cool," starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Cedric the Entertainer, Vince Vaughn, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

"Be Cool" is about an ex-shylock (someone who collects loan money for the mob) named Chili Palmer (played by John Travolta) who is sick of being in the movie business, so he decides to try his hand in the music business with the help of his friend Tommy, who owns an indie record label. But after Tommy is murdered by a group of Russians, Chili realizes that the music industry isn't so cut and dry after all. He has to use his ever popular wit and wiseguy skills to deal with Russian mobsters, gangsta rappers, and sleazy music executives who would like Chili out of the picture.

Pros:

1. Two words: Dwayne Johnson. This is my favorite role of his, besides his portrayal of Paul in "Pain and Gain." Johnson plays Elliot, a gay, amateur singer and bodyguard to a two-bit music promoter/pimp, played by Vince Vaughn. Recognizing that Vaughn's character is keeping Elliot from what he really wants, which is to be a part of Hollywood, Chili offers him an opportunity to break his tie with Vaughn and follow his dreams. Not only does Johnson play a great gay guy, but he plays a perfect passive aggressive, sensitive, and overall innocent character that obviously shouldn't be any of those things. Seeing such a big guy play someone who's more sensitive than I am was really fun to watch, and watching him make fun of his signature eye brow raise was even more fun.

Dwayne Johnson as Elliot, singing "You Ain't Woman Enough (to Take My Man)."

2. Andre Benjamin (Outkast's Andre 3000) is also in it, and he's also hilarious. He plays a successful rap mogul's wife's cousin who tries to hang out with the rappers and act like a tough gangster. What makes it so funny is the fact that he drinks tea (pinky out), he can't handle a gun, and he constantly embarrasses the rap mogul and his crew. He's like the embarrassing little brother you can't get rid of. Also, Cedric the Entertainer plays the rap mogul, and he's a really great character as well. He mentions breaking African American stereotypes, making people realize that African Americans are essential to the growth of a community, but is also into shady dealings and other things that are a part of gang culture.

Cons:

1. Other than those three characters, every other character in the movie either sucked really bad or basically just phoned in their performance. Especially Uma Thurman. She plays Tommy's wife, and co-owner of the record company Chili is trying to save. They could have saved the money in hiring her and just put a cardboard cut-out of her in every scene, because her character was useless. She didn't drive the story at all; she was just there.
Vince Vaughn didn't bother coming up with a character for this one. It might as well have been Vince Vaughn stand-up in a pimp suit. There was nothing wrong with the character, per se; a dorky, white music promoter/pimp that thinks he's black sounds funny, right? His character was supposed to be a white person who identifies more with black culture, but instead he ended up playing it like a caricature of black culture.
Another dishonorable mention would have to be John Travolta. His calm, cool and collected character just came across as bored or confused. He never did anything tough or crazy, he just got himself into weird situations and half-assedly talked himself out of them. After every brush with danger the audience realizes that they escaped just because the script says they do, not because Travolta's character is a badass smooth-talker.

2. The main plot point is what brought the characters together, but after that they just did whatever they wanted. If the plot was a mall, then the story was the mini van that got the characters there; once they got there, they all went their own way with it. The only story line that gets resolved is one no one cares about (it wasn't even worth mentioning in this review, in fact).

I guess that's it. You can't really mess up more than that. I could list more cons, but if the story was terrible and (most of) the characters were terrible, what could possibly save the movie? I'll be nice and give it 2 stars because it is a comedy, and I did find things to laugh at throughout. I just wish it hadn't been at the actors' attempts. Thanks for reading!