Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Be Cool

  • 2005
  • PG-13
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
74K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,577
744
Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Danny DeVito, Vince Vaughn, André 3000, Cedric The Entertainer, Dwayne Johnson, Christina Milian, and Steven Tyler in Be Cool (2005)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer2:22
1 Video
99+ Photos
SatireComedyCrimeMusic

Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive on the way.Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive on the way.Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive on the way.

  • Director
    • F. Gary Gray
  • Writers
    • Elmore Leonard
    • Peter Steinfeld
  • Stars
    • John Travolta
    • Uma Thurman
    • Dwayne Johnson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.6/10
    74K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,577
    744
    • Director
      • F. Gary Gray
    • Writers
      • Elmore Leonard
      • Peter Steinfeld
    • Stars
      • John Travolta
      • Uma Thurman
      • Dwayne Johnson
    • 355User reviews
    • 162Critic reviews
    • 37Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 13 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:22
    Trailer

    Photos182

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 175
    View Poster

    Top cast99+

    Edit
    John Travolta
    John Travolta
    • Chili Palmer
    Uma Thurman
    Uma Thurman
    • Edie Athens
    Dwayne Johnson
    Dwayne Johnson
    • Elliot Wilhelm
    • (as The Rock)
    Vince Vaughn
    Vince Vaughn
    • Raji
    Cedric The Entertainer
    Cedric The Entertainer
    • Sin LaSalle
    • (as Cedric the Entertainer)
    André 3000
    André 3000
    • Dabu
    • (as André Benjamin)
    Steven Tyler
    Steven Tyler
    • Steven Tyler
    Robert Pastorelli
    Robert Pastorelli
    • Joe Loop
    Christina Milian
    Christina Milian
    • Linda Moon
    Paul Adelstein
    Paul Adelstein
    • Hy Gordon
    Debi Mazar
    Debi Mazar
    • Marla
    Gregory Alan Williams
    Gregory Alan Williams
    • Darryl
    • (as GregAlan Williams)
    Harvey Keitel
    Harvey Keitel
    • Nick Carr
    Danny DeVito
    Danny DeVito
    • Martin Weir
    James Woods
    James Woods
    • Tommy Athens
    Wyclef Jean
    Wyclef Jean
    • Wyclef Jean
    Fred Durst
    Fred Durst
    • Self
    Sergio Mendes
    Sergio Mendes
    • Sergio Mendes
    • Director
      • F. Gary Gray
    • Writers
      • Elmore Leonard
      • Peter Steinfeld
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews355

    5.673.7K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    Chrysanthepop

    Pretty Cool All-Round Entertainer

    Based on Elmore Leonard's novel, 'Be Cool' is an all around entertainer. Sequel to 'Get Shorty', Travolta is back as Chili Palmer and Danny Devito makes two cameo appearances. The rest of the fabulous cast includes the sensational Uma Thurman, a hilarious Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Robert Pastorelli and Christina Milian. Harvey Keitel proves to be very good in comedy but the real surprise is Dwayne Johnson who shows a knack for being funny and probably has the funniest role.

    F. Gary Gray does a neat job. The jokes work excellently. The film is well-paced and the writing is consistent. Steinfeld does a good job of rewriting Leonard's book for the big screen. The humour works excellently. None of the jokes fall flat and the cast and crew seem to have had a blast making this film.

    It's a shame that the film wasn't as big a success as it's prequel. Frankly, I enjoyed it more than 'Get Shorty'. Above all, 'Be Cool' is a splendid entertainer that will draw loads of laughs.
    6view_and_review

    "Be Cool" not as hot as "Get Shorty"

    The Shylock turned movie mogul is back for a sequel, and this time he is interested in music. The movie industry is just too fake whereas the people in the music industry are real. Chili Palmer, played by John Travolta, has the same antics and same behaviorisms. He is still smarter than the next guy, tougher than him too, and he can beat up your bodyguard.

    More characters are introduced in "Be Cool" and they are more outrageous. Actors such as Vince Vaughn, The Rock, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andre, bring some good flavor to the movie. Just like with "Get Shorty", there are other sub-plots that all tie together into the main plot and main character. The movie has more-or-less a similar theme and flow to it as "Get Shorty". I think there were a few more funny parts in "Be Cool", but it lacked the originality of "Get Shorty."

    I noticed that there was a different director for this project. His resume' isn't that long, but he has done "Friday", "The Negotiator","The Italian Job", and he is on "The Brazilian Job" project. These weren't that bad, nor was "Be Cool". If he continues to improve from here, he will wind up with a very nice career.
    BraveHawk

    The Rock And Christina Milian Come Into Their Own, Vaughn And Cedric Are Hilarious.

    John Travolta is back as Chili Palmer in Get Shorty's sequel, "Be Cool". Chili Palmer is a former movie producer (as seen in Get Shorty) who is a former mobster. He is not happy with how his career in the movies is going and decides to branch off in the music industry. It is in a somewhat seedy bar that Chili discovers Linda Moon (Christina Milian) working in a trio. Linda has a strong singing voice but is obviously going nowhere within her group. The movie is basically centered around Linda and her contract. Everybody seems to want it now that Chili has plans and knows what a talent she is.

    Getting all the characters on-screen spread them all out a little bit thin, with some barely getting any screen time at all. Most of the better characters got more screen time than I thought they would have. Thankfully, the great chemistry between Vince Vaughn and The Rock gets quite a bit of screen time. Another newcomer who delivers a surprising performance is André Benjamin, or André 3000 as Dabu. Dabu is one of the many in Sin LaSalle's (Cedric The Entertainer) entourage, along with many very large men.

    There are many more actors and actresses in this cast but the best characters were those mentioned above. Dustin Hoffman pulled off a great performance, as usual, but even he seemed overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Uma Thurman, Steven Tyler, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Harvey Keitel and many others round off this great cast. I doubt all these actors would commit to something as horrible as we are all led to believe.

    The Rock is starting to branch out with his acting range. His big gay bodyguard routine was hilarious, as I doubt I'll ever forget his rendition of "You're Not Woman Enough To Take My Man". Rock and Vince Vaughn as the wannabe pimp complimented each other perfectly and along with Cedric, they are the highlights of the movie. Also, Christina Milian looks to be one of the hotter new actresses on her way up and I was impressed by what I assume was her lip-syncing performance with Steven Tyler. Look for her to be around for awhile.

    This was a large cast and, for the most part, they all held their own. My honest review is that this movie is better than it is being given credit for, possibly due to the incredible amount of hype put into it, turning many viewers against it. I went into this movie with an open mind and not expecting a great movie and I came out entertained. Because of this, I can recommend this movie with a clear conscience.
    5sire-5

    Barely amusing

    Be Cool was amusing, but not really very good. From the first scene it was filled with silly references to other movies-especially Pulp Fiction. I'm usually a fan of clever reference, but in Be Cool they mostly fell flat. This movie had four music numbers, a dance sequence, and a montage. It was less a whole film, and more a meaningless parade of cameos. The writing was pretty bad, and most of the performances were desperate and awkward-notably Steven Tyler. Duane Johnson stood out in a movie full of celebrities, as he obviously had a really good time acting, and he was fun to watch. All told, I would have a hard time recommending this film.
    tedg

    Acting Cool

    We are born into the doom of being actors. If we are lucky we discover who we are but until then we go through a process of acting a role.

    Some movies play with this idea, and "Get Shorty" was one of the most clever of these.

    It had two elements: that notion of acting cool and the explicit self-reference of putting it in movies, complete with the command to "look at me."

    Behind it was one of the coolest thinkers in cinema, Danny Devito who is a kind of patron saint of self-reference. He who made a film based on "Pale Fire" and whose "Death to Smoochy" is a pinnacle of sorts of introspective writing.

    Now comes this, which starts out okay, along the same lines of heavy self-reference until we learn that Devito is to star in a biopic of Johnny Cash.

    Then the grind of the inferior mind behind it begins.

    Seems they had some idea that Uma Thurman fit into an intelligent enterprise somewhere.

    Nope, none of the few things she can do fit into self-reference or folding in any way.

    Seems they decided that a mere reference to performance wasn't enough, we had to have the whole pretty-girl-overcomes-adversity thing complete with several performances.

    Nope, again.

    And they figured that all the cool identity stuff would be carried by a white guy acting black and a black guy acting white.

    Nope, nope , nope.

    Go watch any Devito-inspired project rather than this.

    Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

    More like this

    Get Shorty
    6.9
    Get Shorty
    Walking Tall
    6.3
    Walking Tall
    Domestic Disturbance
    5.6
    Domestic Disturbance
    Michael
    5.7
    Michael
    Influenced
    4.5
    Influenced
    Get Shorty
    8.2
    Get Shorty
    The Break-Up
    5.8
    The Break-Up
    Barbershop
    6.3
    Barbershop
    FBoy Island Nederland
    5.9
    FBoy Island Nederland
    Password Plus
    7.6
    Password Plus
    Illegal Aliens
    2.7
    Illegal Aliens
    The General's Daughter
    6.4
    The General's Daughter

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John Travolta suggested Uma Thurman for the role of Edie, wanting to re-create their chemistry from Pulp Fiction (1994).
    • Goofs
      When Chili meets Steven Tyler after the basketball match, Tyler can be seen mouthing other actors' lines.
    • Quotes

      Sin LaSalle: Have you lost your mind? I mean, how is it that you can disrespect a mans ethnicity when you know we've influenced nearly every facet of white America... from our music to our style of dress. Not to mention your basic imitation of our sense of cool; walk, talk, dress, mannerisms... we enrich your very existence, all the while contributing to the gross national product through our achievements in corporate America. It's these conceits that comfort me when I am faced with the ignorant, cowardly, bitter and bigoted, who *have* no talent, no guts? people like you who desecrate things they don't understand when the truth is - you should say thank-you, man? and go on about your way. But apparently you are incapable of doing that! So...

      [shoots his gun]

      Sin LaSalle: ... and don't tell me to be cool. I *am* cool!

    • Crazy credits
      In the closing credits, the various cast members are seen dancing, even the Russian "corpse".
    • Connections
      Edited into Lovewrecked (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Sexy
      Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Will.i.am (as Will Adams)

      Performed by The Black Eyed Peas

      Courtesy of A&M Records

      Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ20

    • How long is Be Cool?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 4, 2005 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • MGM (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Tómalo con calma
    • Filming locations
      • Canter's Deli - 419 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA(Raji's meeting with Joe Loop)
    • Production companies
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      • Jersey Films
      • Double Feature Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $53,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $56,046,979
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $23,450,212
      • Mar 6, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $95,763,716
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Danny DeVito, Vince Vaughn, André 3000, Cedric The Entertainer, Dwayne Johnson, Christina Milian, and Steven Tyler in Be Cool (2005)
    Top Gap
    What is the Hindi language plot outline for Be Cool (2005)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.