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by Elmore Leonard Book Review by Hal Jacobs "High concept" is a Hollywood term that refers to a movie idea that can be summed up in a single sentence and persuade investors and millions of moviegoers to reach for their wallets. Here are a few examples. A story about a doomed love affair on the Titanic. A story about Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman doing anything together, say, patching drywall. A story about "Get Shorty's" Chili Palmer managing a rock band in Los Angeles. Remember Chili? He was the Miami Beach shylock who followed a deadbeat named Leo to Los Angeles. By a smooth combination of street smarts, chivalry and good timing, Chili talked his way into the American dream of the '90s - that is, he became a Hollywood player. All Chili needed was three words to get what he wanted: "Look at me." In the hands of Elmore Leonard, the book became a bestseller, and the movie did boffo box office thanks to John Travolta, director Barry Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Scott Frank. That explains the buzz around Leonard's 36th novel, "Be Cool." Chili is back - can Travolta be very far behind? Excerpts from the new book will be tucked inside 12-packs of Diet Coke. The cover of Lands' End clothing catalogue features the 72-year-old Leonard wearing "one of Chili Palmer's favorite Pinpoint shirts." And Leonard will soon go on tour with the band that served as inspiration for the book: the Stone Coyotes, a hip Massachusetts family trio. As for the novel itself, it's "Get Shorty" set in the L.A. music scene of grunge rockers, rappers, record industry executives, independent promoters and - no big surprise here - gangsters. Former wise guys, hoods and hit men from the Leonard stable of petty thieves. Guys that love to hear themselves talk. Guys that think like criminals, act like wanna-be's and resort to violence when all else fails. (Guys who have problems with the correct usage of "that" and "who.") Only Chili knows how to saddle them up and ride them to the bank. In most Leonard novels, that's enough to keep the pot boiling for 250 or so pages, or whenever Leonard decides to call it quits. But "Be Cool" never reaches a boil. It's too much of a Hollywood sequel to have a life of its own. Chili has got it made in Hollywood, but he was never a made man with the wise guys. Before, he was just another shylock, now he's a cool movie producer who lives in the right zip code. He's even been a guest on the Charlie Rose Show. Life is a cakewalk. Halfway through the story he gets and keeps the girl (in this case a studio executive). Chili's main problem these days is coming up with a story for his third movie. That's why he decides to manage a girl singer in a rock band. To see where the story goes. Writers know the danger with this approach is that sometimes the story doesn't go anywhere. And that's the problem with "Be Cool." The story takes us inside the music business, then fails to go anywhere else. The bad guys, Raji and Elliott, are lukewarm versions of Catlett and Bear from "Get Shorty." The big showdown between them and Chili happens on a high balcony just like the climactic scene in "Get Shorty." Perhaps Raji stole this idea, as well as how to break into Chili's hotel room, by watching Chili Palmer's "Get Leo," but Leonard doesn't say. After reading "Be Cool" you may be tempted to go back and see if "Get Shorty" was as good as you remembered. It is. Chili's first adventure was a jambalaya of quirky characters and fun, messy subplots compared to this smooth, straight-to-film broth. But it's not as if Leonard is trying to pull a fast one over his loyal readers. He's way too hip for that. Instead, he lets his characters comment dryly on the story-in-progress. "A guy that ran a limo service told me one time there's nothing to writing a screenplay," says Chili. "The way this one's going I think it'll write itself." To which his future girlfriend Elaine replies: "If it doesn't work you can always make something up. It's what writers do. When they're not lifting ideas from other movies." Chili: "What we've got, Elaine, is the material, the characters, the business, different situations, some action…. Why don't we give it to the screenwriter?" "Be Cool" is the perfect title. Nobody is cooler than Chili/Leonard/Travolta. And the two words are perfect as something Leonard might say to his diehard fans after they put the book down. | top |
from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sunday, Jan. 31, 1999 |