Be Cool
Directed by F. Gary Gray
- comedy
- crime
The story
Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive along the way.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-washed Los Angeles in saturated daylight and glossy nightclub neon, with the palette tipping into candy pinks, chrome and gaudy gold in the record label offices and sleek, cool blues in the studio booths. Camera work is loose and bouncy, full of quick pans, playful zooms and well-timed reaction shots, and the frames are dense with bodies, bling and bold costume choices. The sound is a constant pulse of hip-hop beats, lounge-y soul and needle-drop bangers layered over snappy dialogue, so it never really goes quiet. The vibe is breezy, irreverent and knowingly flashy, a caper-comedy with a wink, best for a lazy weekend afternoon, a crowd-pleasing movie night, or easy background company on a long drive. Pacing is brisk and talky, with the emotional register kept light: a sharp, unbothered older hustler drifts into the music business, sharpening his instincts and warming to a woman who is harder to read than she looks. Violence is present but cartoonish and brief, with gunplay and shakedowns played for laughs rather than real menace, and there is some crude language and suggestive humour. It suits viewers who want stylish, star-studded fun with a sly sense of humour and no real dread.
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