... as a debt collector for the mob who is based out of Miami. John Travolta is borrowing a lot from his part in "Pulp Fiction" here as far as attitude and presence. At least the cool mob guy part. But he's completely likeable and he has a love and encyclopedic knowledge of film comparable to the late Robert Osborne. And he gets rough when he has to, usually with another mobster from a different crew who is always trying to push him around (Dennis Farina as Ray Barboni). Chili gets the best of him without breaking his stride or his countenance. He'll graze the top of a guy's head with a bullet just on the chance he is up to no good when he enters his office without knocking, yet open the car door for a woman because he is a gentleman - a truly fascinating character.
Twists of fate have him in LA collecting a debt from a schlock horror director, Harry Zim (Gene Hackman) who also owes money to some other mobsters, who owe money to still other mobsters. It gets complicated, and I won't spoil it for you, but it is easy to follow if you pay attention, and Travolta is a delight to watch as a shylock who really just wants to make movies and uses his inherent charm and street smarts to wheedle his way into producing movies and get the girl.
With Danny De Vito in a supporting role as big star Martin Weir (the "shorty" in the film title ), Rene Russo as a B horror actress with brains who actually wants to produce, and James Gandolfini as a two-bit hoodlum four years before The Sopranos.
It looks like one of those films everybody had a good time making, and you know you are watching a satire when somebody has a line saying someone is "Dead as disco" when talking to Travolta. Highly recommended as a love letter to and a satire of Hollywood.
Twists of fate have him in LA collecting a debt from a schlock horror director, Harry Zim (Gene Hackman) who also owes money to some other mobsters, who owe money to still other mobsters. It gets complicated, and I won't spoil it for you, but it is easy to follow if you pay attention, and Travolta is a delight to watch as a shylock who really just wants to make movies and uses his inherent charm and street smarts to wheedle his way into producing movies and get the girl.
With Danny De Vito in a supporting role as big star Martin Weir (the "shorty" in the film title ), Rene Russo as a B horror actress with brains who actually wants to produce, and James Gandolfini as a two-bit hoodlum four years before The Sopranos.
It looks like one of those films everybody had a good time making, and you know you are watching a satire when somebody has a line saying someone is "Dead as disco" when talking to Travolta. Highly recommended as a love letter to and a satire of Hollywood.