# Be Cool
**Be Cool** is a 2005 American crime comedy directed by [F. Gary Gray](https://www.edgepedia.org/f-gary-gray) and the sequel to *Get Shorty* (1995), based on [Elmore Leonard](https://www.edgepedia.org/elmore-leonard)'s 1999 novel of the same name. [John Travolta](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-travolta) returns as Chili Palmer, a former loan shark who moved from the Miami rackets into Hollywood film production in the first film and now tries the Los Angeles music business, where he romances a music executive's widow, Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), and backs an aspiring singer while contending with Russian mobsters, rival producers, and hit men.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63319-BE-COOL) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_cool)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Based on the novel *Be Cool* by Elmore Leonard (New York, 1999); screenplay by Peter Steinfeld[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63319-BE-COOL) |
| Director and producers | Directed by F. Gary Gray; produced by Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and David Nicksay[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63319-BE-COOL) |
| Release | United States openings in Los Angeles and New York on March 4, 2005; PG-13; about 119 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63319-BE-COOL) |
| Principal cast | John Travolta (Chili Palmer), Uma Thurman (Edie Athens), Vince Vaughn (Raji), Cedric the Entertainer (Sin LaSalle), Dwayne Johnson (Elliot Wilhelm), Christina Milian (Linda Moon)[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/) |
| Box office | Domestic $56,046,979; worldwide $95,763,716; opening weekend $23,450,212 against a $53,000,000 budget per Box Office Mojo[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0377471/) |
| Critical reception | 29% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 167 reviews; Metascore 37 on Metacritic from 38 critics[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_cool) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Chili Palmer, having gone from gangster to movie producer, decides the music industry is his next move. The story centers on his effort to launch Linda Moon ([Christina Milian](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-milian)), a young singer who wants to break free of her contract and release her inner diva, in partnership with Edie Athens, the widow of a music executive and Chili's friend Tommy Athens ([James Woods](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-woods)).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_cool) • [5](https://www.christianitytoday.com/2005/03/becool/) Chili's involvement draws threats from Russian mobsters and from a suburban rap-mogul producer and his thugs, and the plot includes his witnessing his friend's murder.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_cool) • [6](https://brownelllibrary.org/images/New_Book_List/2019/July-19-New-Books.pdf)
The ensemble casts the film's celebrities against type or as themselves. [Dwayne Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/dwayne-johnson), then still billed as The Rock, plays Elliot Wilhelm, a bodyguard who wants to act; the Harvard Crimson's review noted that The Rock plays "a very fey openly homosexual man," Andre 3000 "channels 50 Cent," and [Steven Tyler](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-tyler) plays Steven Tyler.[7](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/3/10/movie-reviews-bpbe-coolb-pbe-cool/) Vince Vaughn plays the white wannabe-black manager Raji, Cedric the Entertainer plays the music mogul "Sin" LaSalle, and [Harvey Keitel](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvey-keitel) and Danny DeVito round out the cast, DeVito reprising his *Get Shorty* role as the actor Martin Weir in what the New York Observer called a virtual cameo.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/) • [8](https://observer.com/2005/03/welcome-back-palmer-travolta-returns-in-be-cool/)
## From novel to screen
Elmore Leonard wrote *Be Cool* as a follow-up to his 1990 novel *Get Shorty* after the success of both that book and its 1995 film adaptation, revisiting the Chili Palmer character and moving him from the film industry to the music industry.[9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/021678/based-on-elmore-leonard) • [10](https://detective.gumer.info/txt/critical.pdf) Leonard said in a 1998 Fresh Air interview that in the sequel Palmer dabbles in the music industry.[11](https://freshairarchive.org/segments/novelist-elmore-leonard-his-sequel-get-shorty)
The film took years to reach production. In April 2000, The Guardian reported that Travolta's reported $20 million fee appeared to be holding up the long-awaited sequel, quoting Leonard: "I called John recently, thinking we should get this film underway."[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/apr/12/news1) [Scott Frank](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-frank), who wrote the *Get Shorty* screenplay, said in 2001 that he was not writing the sequel and was not interested in doing sequels, wanting to continue with his own original material; the job went to Peter Steinfeld.[13](https://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/cfa3fb2a) Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed the first film, was replaced by F. Gary Gray, and René Russo's leading lady role was not retained; among the cast, the Observer counted only Travolta and DeVito as holdovers from *Get Shorty*.[8](https://observer.com/2005/03/welcome-back-palmer-travolta-returns-in-be-cool/)
## Reception
Critics received the film poorly. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 29% Tomatometer from 167 reviews and a 42% Popcornmeter from more than 100,000 audience ratings, with a critics consensus calling the film "tepid, square, and lukewarm; as a parody of the music business, it has two left feet."[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_cool) Metacritic weighted 38 reviews to a Metascore of 37, categorized as generally unfavorable, with 13% positive, 47% mixed, and 39% negative; its 48 user ratings averaged 6.2, a generally favorable score.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/)
Reviewers repeatedly measured the film against its predecessor. Roger Ebert gave it two stars, arguing that the film "knows it is a sequel" and leans on self-reference, including a dance-floor scene in which Thurman asks Travolta if he dances, connecting *Pulp Fiction* and *Saturday Night Fever*, without an actual story underneath.[14](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/be-cool-2005) [The Village Voice](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-village-voice)'s Michael Atkinson singled out Dwayne Johnson as "brave, fully invested in his character, and with a wide-open face and foolish grin, outrageously funny," a view echoed by aggregated user reviews that frequently name his performance as the film's highlight.[15](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/critic-reviews/) • [16](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/be-cool-2005/) [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker)'s David Denby called it "a lazy, rhythmless, and redundant piece of moviemaking" that was nonetheless "not an insult" as sequels go.[15](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/critic-reviews/) The film received four nominations each at the BET Comedy Awards and the [Teen Choice Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/teen-choice-awards).[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/)
## Box office
Be Cool opened wide in the United States on March 4, 2005 in 3,216 theaters, grossing $23,450,212 on its first weekend, 42% of its eventual domestic total, and ranking second that weekend.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0377471/) • [17](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Be-Cool) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a domestic gross of $56,046,979 and a worldwide total of $95,763,716 against a $53,000,000 budget; The Numbers lists the domestic gross as $55,849,401, the worldwide total as $94,944,017, and the production budget as $75,000,000, a discrepancy between the two trackers that neither source resolves.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0377471/) • [17](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Be-Cool) On either budget figure, the worldwide gross represented a modest return, and the film's second-weekend drop of 56% indicated weak holding power after the opening.[17](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Be-Cool)
International distribution varied: MGM handled the domestic release, while 20th Century Fox distributed the film in the United Kingdom, where it opened April 1, 2005 and grossed $7,978,177, and in Japan, where it opened September 3, 2005.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0377471/) • [18](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/be-cool-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntqyntc) • [19](https://eiga.com/movie/1284/) The British Board of Film Classification passed the cinema version with a rating noting one use of strong language and moderate violence, and reclassified a 2025 home entertainment and streaming version with advice for violence, language, discrimination, and sex references.[18](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/be-cool-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntqyntc)
## References
1. [Be Cool (2005), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63319-BE-COOL)
2. [Be Cool, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_cool)
3. [Be Cool Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/)
4. [Be Cool (2005), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0377471/)
5. [Be Cool, Christianity Today (March 4, 2005)](https://www.christianitytoday.com/2005/03/becool/)
6. [DVD Be Cool, MGM Home Entertainment, 2005, Brownell Library list](https://brownelllibrary.org/images/New_Book_List/2019/July-19-New-Books.pdf)
7. [Movie Reviews: Be Cool, The Harvard Crimson (March 10, 2005)](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/3/10/movie-reviews-bpbe-coolb-pbe-cool/)
8. [Welcome Back, Palmer: Travolta Returns in Be Cool, New York Observer (2005)](https://observer.com/2005/03/welcome-back-palmer-travolta-returns-in-be-cool/)
9. [Based on Elmore Leonard, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/021678/based-on-elmore-leonard)
10. [Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction](https://detective.gumer.info/txt/critical.pdf)
11. [Novelist Elmore Leonard on his sequel to "Get Shorty," Fresh Air Archive](https://freshairarchive.org/segments/novelist-elmore-leonard-his-sequel-get-shorty)
12. [Travolta's $20m price tag hinders Get Shorty sequel, The Guardian (April 12, 2000)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/apr/12/news1)
13. [Script Report: BE COOL, Screenwriter's Utopia (June 1, 2001)](https://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/cfa3fb2a)
14. [Warmed-over Chili not cool, review by Roger Ebert (March 3, 2005)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/be-cool-2005)
15. [Be Cool critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-cool/critic-reviews/)
16. [Be Cool (2005) Reviews, Cinafilm](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/be-cool-2005/)
17. [Be Cool (2005), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Be-Cool)
18. [Be Cool, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/be-cool-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntqyntc)
19. [Be Cool ビー・クール, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/1284/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s › Released 2005 to 2009*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license