The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Years ago George Raft who hung around so many mobsters in real life was asked whether he preferred the wise guys or Hollywood. Without a hesitation the man who played so many gangsters so well because he hung around them so much and it just rubbed off said that he preferred Ben Seigel to Harry Cohn. He never had a mobster go back on his word to him.John Travolta probably studied that bit of wisdom from Raft, I'm surprised no Raft clips are in Get Shorty. Travolta plays a collector of debts and right now he's to get about $300,000.00 from producer Gene Hackman. But one look at Travolta and a star could be born.There's also a schlepp who ran off with that amount and is thought to be dead in a plane crash. And some Columbians who are looking for some money they are owed for drugs. All three of these elements are woven rather nicely together in a nice black comedy.And the girl Travolta is aiming for, Rene Russo star of the B picture horror schlock that Hackman produces. Shorty of the title could only be Danny DeVito who spends a lot further than his latest salary will take him.My favorite scenes are when heavies Delroy Lindo and Dennis Farina both get some justice. Travolta and Farina don't like each other, but what happens to Farina is truly poetic.In fact they put into pictures.

Such a silly movie with a silly plot, silly characters and silly dialogs.But I never enjoyed a movie more, and never before was I so engrossed in watching John Travolta on the screen.Truly the difference is in the acting.Travolta single-handedly turns this silly movie into a delightful movie.Its a Travolta show all the way. All the other actors would have sunk with the movie if it had not been for 'Chili Palmer'.Travolta proves he is a brilliant actor. He actually manages to show that a brilliant actor needs absolutely no support but can actually sustain a movie on his own.No other actor has been able to do this, ever.

One of the great mysteries of all time, right up there with Area 51 and the Da Vinci Code, is why the film industry, now into its second century and -- as you read this -- consuming on a relative basis more bandwidth than any other form of media, cannot produce consistently decent product? Now don't misunderstand. This is not to say that most movies are inherently bad, for that is not true either. However one of the dirty little secrets of the industry is that the "breakout" ratio is around 20:1. That is, for every 19 forgettable products that are churned out -- products that keep the cable and streaming media pipelines full, and keep food on the table for all the electricians, caterers, and Best Boys -- about one actually is memorable enough to attract a permanent audience or become near-iconic. Not a very efficient ratio! The late Marshall McLuhan tried in his lifetime to develop the notion of "media ecology," essentially the premise that the cultural output of a society was no less important than any other industry output, and therefore an effort should be made NOT TO WASTE THE RESOURCES or (simply put) produce junk. Like the infamous joke about about the "Nietzsche graffiti" (first line: "God is dead - Nietzsche." Second line: "Nietzsche is dead. God") that attempt did not turn out so well. McLuhan is gone, and the ratio has arguably gotten worse, because there are now many more pipelines to fill. Which brings us, belatedly, to GET SHORTY, not only a great film (one of Travolta's best performances, so effortless you wonder if he phoned it in, and Pixar just added a body) but one of Hollywood's most "inside" scripts ever. (Comedians have "inside jokes." Hollywood has "inside scripts.") The premise here is that the making of a movie has little to do with the movie, and everything to do with egos and business capabilities of the people making it. The idea that a professional mobster could stumble into Hollywood and suddenly realize that making a film is no different than planning a hit, or a robbery, is sheer brilliance. And very close to home. In the history of the medium, it is one of the only movies to deal with the delicate (and unpopular) issue of ... why so many bad films have to be made, simply to produce one good one...?

In film writing seminars, they tell you to include nothing that does not advance the story. The same should hold true for a well paced novel (alhough seldom does). For Elmore Leonard the rule was gospel. You may or may not like his stories but you will never fall asleep because they are too slow. With a good solid script; great actors; competent direct and tight editing; Get Shorty moves with a speed that will not leave you any breaks to make a head call or a popcorn run. It is full of humorous anecdotes and just enough action to keep the action fans awake. Story synopsis is included in the main reviews of this movie, so I will skip that. You can get a copy to see at most of your local video stores or by ordering through netflix (not available through streaming at this time )