A loan shark goes to L.A. to collect money and ends up making movies.
PLOT:
Chili Palmer (JOHN TRAVOLTA), a loan shark from Miami, heads to Los Angeles to collect money on a gambling debt owed by Harry Zimm (GENE HACKMAN), a low budget film producer. Chili breaks into Karin Flores' (RENE RUSSO) home to find Harry, and ever the movie buff, he pitches a idea to Harry about a dry cleaner on the run with a bunch of money, which just happens to be true story. But Harry has his own script he wants to produce, as well as some rough investors led by Bo (DELROY LINDO) who want to know what's happening with their money. Thrown into the mix are Ray "Bones" Barboni (DENNIS FARINA), the new Miami crime lord who doesn't like Chili, and Martin Weir (DANNY DEVITO), a big Hollywood star who's interested in both Harry's and Chili's movie ideas. They all mix together as some look for their money while others try to make their movies.
WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Travolta, once again the big screen darling, is a big draw and kids just might want to see this one based on his resurgent career.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For language and some violence.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
JOHN TRAVOLTA plays the cocky loan shark with an encyclopedia of movie trivia inside his head. He wants to leave the organized crime world and enter the movie world, but he still uses violence to achieve his goals. He does however, have a way of making friends even with those who want to harm him.
GENE HACKMAN plays the weak back boned producer of low grade, low budget films.
RENE RUSSO plays a low budget actress who ends up sleeping with both Harry and Chili and works to make their film projects a reality.
DANNY DEVITO plays a conceited, but likeable Hollywood star.
96 "f" words (2 used sexually, 1 with the prefix "mother"), 22 "s" words, 8 "ass" words, 7 hells, 2 SOB's, 3 slang terms for penis (the "d" and "p" words), and one use each of "damn" and "crap." In addition there are 10 uses of "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ," 8 of "For Christ's sake," and one each of "My God," "God damn," and "For God's sake" as exclamations.
Harry and Karin are seen in bed together (implying sex).
In a scene from Chili's movie, a man pats a woman on the butt.
Martin leers after Karin, his ex-wife, and tries to kiss her on the mouth, but she turns her head.
Karin states that at one time she walked around in "...f*ck me pumps."
Karin is seen in her bikini underwear.
Karin says that her marriage to Martin was fine until he ran off to have sex with another woman.
The wife of a dead screenwriter comes over to seduce Harry. When she spins around, she's seen in a teddy and she comes over and starts kissing him. He says "I don't know how I feel about this." She feels his crotch and says, "You seem to feel fine."
Chili and Karin kiss and then are seen in bed together (implying that they had sex).
Martin talks about two screen characters saying that there should be romance, that the two shouldn't just "hop in the sack."
Chili punches Ray in the face for having taken his coat at a restaurant (and ends up breaking his nose).
Ray goes to Chili's office with his gun drawn, ready for revenge, but Chili is waiting for him and fires his own gun. The bullet just grazes Ray's head.
Chili's out of shape boss keels over from a heart attack after having a surprise party erupt before him.
One of Ray's henchmen holds barbers' shears to Chili's neck.
In a scene from Chili's movie, an airliner crashes during take off from an airport.
In a scene from Chili's movie, a woman slaps a man after he pats her on the butt.
One of Harry's investors points a gun at him, saying he's "as dead as disco" if they don't get their money back.
Ray punches the dry cleaner's wife in the face for lying to him.
Chili jokes that he's going to take a gun and put it to Martin's head to get him to star in the movie.
There is a clip from the movie, "Touch of Evil" where Orson Welles fires his gun at Charlton Heston, but ends up getting shot himself.
Bo shoots a guy in the chest (there to collect money) and he falls off a balcony.
Bo's bodyguard threatens Chili, who in turn grabs the guy by the crotch and then tosses him down a flight of stairs. Chili then informs Bo that he should leave before he cleans up the floor with him.
Later, Chili encounters the bodyguard again and kicks him in the shin and then in the gut, dropping the guy to the ground.
A man threatens Bo and states that he'll have his men "...staple your tongue to your chin."
Ray hits Harry across the face with a book and then overturns his desk. He throws Harry into the wall and beats him up and places his foot down onto Harry's neck. Then one of Bo's associates enters and mouths off to Ray. Ray in turn shoots him dead.
Bo fires his gun at Chili and then grabs Karin and takes her hostage.
Bo holds his gun on his bodyguard telling him to calm down.
Bo holds his gun on Chili and says, "I can't wait for you to be dead." The bodyguard then hits Chili in the face and then hits and kicks him in the stomach. This beating continues out onto a balcony where the bodyguard then pushes Chili into Bo knocking both of them off the balcony. Karin grabs a gun and fires it at the bodyguard, but stops when she sees that he's pulling Chili up.
Ray holds his gun on Chili and then places it to his head, demanding his money.