Be Cool

Be Cool is the kind of sequel that gives sequels a bad name--a bland, lifeless, uninspired cash-in with an assembly-line script and a sleepwalking star whose performance isn't even a faint shadow of its original incarnation. John Travolta plays a barely warmed-over version of Chili Palmer, his once-charismatic mob shylock from Get Shorty, who came to L.A. to collect on a gambling debt from a B-movie producer and decided he'd rather break into the biz himself. Now he's bored with making horrible sequels (how ironic), so for no explored reason he becomes manager for a generic-pop Christina Aguilera wannabe (Christina Milian), who is far less character than plot device. Where jazzy, hilarious Get Shorty was alive with film-industry mockery and novelist Elmore Leonard's uniquely bright bite--not to mention Travolta's winningly wry, self-referential performance--Be Cool is dead on arrival, a poor adaptation that is inaptly sincere where it should be funny, featuring a phoned in acting job by Travolta. The film's only saving grace: former wrestler The Rock, playing a bodyguard/henchman/aspiring actor/singer trying desperately (and failing miserably) to hide the fact that he's more than a little light in the loafers. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a “making-of” featurette (22 min.), 14 deleted scenes (18 min.), a gag reel (8 min.), a music video of The Rock as Elliot Wilhelm (4 min.), and five “Close-Up” featurettes: “Dance Partners” (4 min.), “The Rock” (6 min.), “André 3000” (5 min.), “Cedric the Entertainer” (6 min.), and Christina Milian (6 min.). Bottom line: a decent extras package for a dud of a sequel.] (R. Blackwelder)