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Chili Palmer #1
Get Shorty: A Novel
Mob-connected loan shark Chili Palmer is sick of the Miami grind—plus his “friends” have a bad habit of dying there. So when he chases a deadbeat client out to Hollywood, Chili figures he might like to stay. This town, with its dream-makers, glitter, hucksters, and liars—plus gorgeous, partially clad would-be starlets everywhere you look—seems ideal for an enterprising criminal with a taste for the cinematic. Besides, Chili’s got an idea for a killer movie, though it could very possibly kill him to get it made.
1 pages, MP3 CD
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Elmore Leonard
205 books3,795 followersElmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.
Father of Peter Leonard.
Father of Peter Leonard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,054 reviews
June 4, 2015
Elmore Leonard had a bad Hollywood experience in the mid-‘80s of working on a film adaptation of LaBrava with Dustin Hoffman. Leonard did multiple unpaid rewrites at the actor’s request, but then Hoffman bailed on the project after six months of meetings leaving Leonard with nothing to show for his time. Leonard’s revenge was Get Shorty and what sweet revenge it is.
Chili Palmer is a small time loan shark in Miami who once got into a beef with another gangster, Ray Barboni, who has held a grudge against him. Unfortunately, Chili ends up working for Ray who immediately demands that Chili shake down overdue payment from a dry cleaner. A twisted trail eventually leads Chili to LA where he gets mixed up with Harry Zimm, a small-time producer of horror movies who has a new script that flighty superstar actor Michael Weir has expressed an interest in. Harry thinks he can use Michael’s name to get a big studio deal to make something better than schlock for a change , but he’s got a problem with a drug dealer name Bo Catlett who usually finances his movies to launder drug money.
Chili is a big movie buff who thinks he might give up loan sharking for producing, and he sets out to help Harry get a deal with the help of Karen Flores, a former actress known for screaming in Harry’s horror movies who just so happens to be Michael’s ex. Unfortunately, Bo Catlett has also been dreaming of breaking into the film industry and starts trying to drive Chili away from Harry with the idea of taking over the project.
The surface level of this is funny enough with its core idea of a gangster trying to get into the movie business, but where it achieves greatness is the twist it takes once Chili meets Michael. When his pitch for Harry’s movie isn’t getting through, Chili starts talking about his recent adventures, and Michael is intrigued. Without realizing it, Chili essentially begins pitching his story as it’s happening to Michael, and the short actor pounces on the idea of playing a loan shark. The problem is that Chili doesn’t know how it’s going to end yet.
Leonard always had a great knack of playing off the way that people perceive themselves and each other. This pays off even more since so many Hollywood characters are involved that the story is being discussed and thought about as a movie even while it happens. So when Chili confronts a thug of Catlett’s and throws him down a flight of stairs while Karen watches, she’s mentally breaking it down like a film scene instead of being shocked by what she saw. When someone asks Chili who the protagonist is, Chili is shocked that it’s not apparent that the loan shark is the good guy because to him it’s obvious that he’s the hero of this story.
While some writers might have let this idea of a story unfolding and being pitched as a movie at the same time get too clever for its own good and been tempted to push the idea into complete nonsense, Leonard’s brevity and sharp plotting keep it grounded as a crime story with humor rather than letting it turn into some kind of meta-fiction writing exercise. As usual, you also get all the hallmarks of Leonard in his prime with great dialogue and memorable characters.
Of course, the ultimate fitting end to Leonard’s satirizing of Hollywood is that this was eventually turned into a hit film. Dustin Hoffman was not involved.
Chili Palmer is a small time loan shark in Miami who once got into a beef with another gangster, Ray Barboni, who has held a grudge against him. Unfortunately, Chili ends up working for Ray who immediately demands that Chili shake down overdue payment from a dry cleaner. A twisted trail eventually leads Chili to LA where he gets mixed up with Harry Zimm, a small-time producer of horror movies who has a new script that flighty superstar actor Michael Weir has expressed an interest in. Harry thinks he can use Michael’s name to get a big studio deal to make something better than schlock for a change , but he’s got a problem with a drug dealer name Bo Catlett who usually finances his movies to launder drug money.
Chili is a big movie buff who thinks he might give up loan sharking for producing, and he sets out to help Harry get a deal with the help of Karen Flores, a former actress known for screaming in Harry’s horror movies who just so happens to be Michael’s ex. Unfortunately, Bo Catlett has also been dreaming of breaking into the film industry and starts trying to drive Chili away from Harry with the idea of taking over the project.
The surface level of this is funny enough with its core idea of a gangster trying to get into the movie business, but where it achieves greatness is the twist it takes once Chili meets Michael. When his pitch for Harry’s movie isn’t getting through, Chili starts talking about his recent adventures, and Michael is intrigued. Without realizing it, Chili essentially begins pitching his story as it’s happening to Michael, and the short actor pounces on the idea of playing a loan shark. The problem is that Chili doesn’t know how it’s going to end yet.
Leonard always had a great knack of playing off the way that people perceive themselves and each other. This pays off even more since so many Hollywood characters are involved that the story is being discussed and thought about as a movie even while it happens. So when Chili confronts a thug of Catlett’s and throws him down a flight of stairs while Karen watches, she’s mentally breaking it down like a film scene instead of being shocked by what she saw. When someone asks Chili who the protagonist is, Chili is shocked that it’s not apparent that the loan shark is the good guy because to him it’s obvious that he’s the hero of this story.
While some writers might have let this idea of a story unfolding and being pitched as a movie at the same time get too clever for its own good and been tempted to push the idea into complete nonsense, Leonard’s brevity and sharp plotting keep it grounded as a crime story with humor rather than letting it turn into some kind of meta-fiction writing exercise. As usual, you also get all the hallmarks of Leonard in his prime with great dialogue and memorable characters.
Of course, the ultimate fitting end to Leonard’s satirizing of Hollywood is that this was eventually turned into a hit film. Dustin Hoffman was not involved.
December 14, 2022
Chili Palmer, #1: Connected loan shark Chilli Palmer tracks a loser debtor producer to Hollywood, checks out the lifestyle, and decides to stay. Thinking about his life, he feels that he has a great idea for movie and sets out to get it done, the Chilli way. A nicely constructed merging of organised crime and Hollywood... the Elmore way! 7 out of 12, Three Star read :)
2010 read
2010 read
December 18, 2015
This novel was so much fun! It's only the second Elmore Leonard book I've read, but already I'm a convert.
The story is that Chili Palmer is a Miami loan shark who ends up in Los Angeles, trying to track down a guy who owes him money. Chili has always loved movies, and while in LA he gets to know producer Harry Zimm and actress Karen Flores. Chili has an idea for a movie based on his experiences as a shylock, and a major star likes the story.
What was especially fun about this book was how meta it was about the movie industry. Elmore Leonard wrote the book based on his experiences with Hollywood, and there are some good jokes made about actors and producers.
(Sorry, I was interrupted while working on this and some people saw this review only half-written. I wish Goodreads would add a "save as draft" option.) As I was saying, Leonard's writing is a joy to read. He's funny, clever, has great insight into his characters, and his stories move so briskly that there isn't a wasted paragraph in the book.
Earlier this month I read Leonard's "Out of Sight," which was also a delight, and I picked up "Get Shorty" because I had enjoyed the movie version. Leonard was so prolific that I plan to relish his novels for months to come.
Favorite Quotes
The trouble with this [drug] business, you had to rely on other people; you couldn't do it alone. Same thing in the movie business, from what Catlett had seen, studying how it worked. The difference was, in the movie business, you didn't worry about somebody getting turned to save their ass and pointing at you in court. You could get fucked over in the movie business all kinds of ways, but you didn't get sent to a correctional facility when you lost out. The movie business, you could come right out and tell people what you did, make a name. Instead of hanging out on the edge, supplying highs for dumbass movie stars, you could get to where you hire the ones you want and tell 'em what to do; they don't like it, fire their ass. It didn't make sense to live here if you weren't in the movie business.
******
"What you don't understand," Catlett said, "is what the movie is saying. You live clean, the shit gets taken care of somehow or other. That's what the movie's about."
"You believe that?"
"In movies, yeah. Movies haven't got nothing to do with real life."
The story is that Chili Palmer is a Miami loan shark who ends up in Los Angeles, trying to track down a guy who owes him money. Chili has always loved movies, and while in LA he gets to know producer Harry Zimm and actress Karen Flores. Chili has an idea for a movie based on his experiences as a shylock, and a major star likes the story.
What was especially fun about this book was how meta it was about the movie industry. Elmore Leonard wrote the book based on his experiences with Hollywood, and there are some good jokes made about actors and producers.
(Sorry, I was interrupted while working on this and some people saw this review only half-written. I wish Goodreads would add a "save as draft" option.) As I was saying, Leonard's writing is a joy to read. He's funny, clever, has great insight into his characters, and his stories move so briskly that there isn't a wasted paragraph in the book.
Earlier this month I read Leonard's "Out of Sight," which was also a delight, and I picked up "Get Shorty" because I had enjoyed the movie version. Leonard was so prolific that I plan to relish his novels for months to come.
Favorite Quotes
The trouble with this [drug] business, you had to rely on other people; you couldn't do it alone. Same thing in the movie business, from what Catlett had seen, studying how it worked. The difference was, in the movie business, you didn't worry about somebody getting turned to save their ass and pointing at you in court. You could get fucked over in the movie business all kinds of ways, but you didn't get sent to a correctional facility when you lost out. The movie business, you could come right out and tell people what you did, make a name. Instead of hanging out on the edge, supplying highs for dumbass movie stars, you could get to where you hire the ones you want and tell 'em what to do; they don't like it, fire their ass. It didn't make sense to live here if you weren't in the movie business.
******
"What you don't understand," Catlett said, "is what the movie is saying. You live clean, the shit gets taken care of somehow or other. That's what the movie's about."
"You believe that?"
"In movies, yeah. Movies haven't got nothing to do with real life."
April 28, 2025
Elmore knows how to write a novel. Unfortunately for him, he became too popular, which he deserved to. Some American crime thriller fans who are as phony and pompous as European art film aficionados act like his novels are no good. His novels do not do the trick for these people apparently. Well, if he had delivered these books in some arty farty cover, and prettier fonts, maybe they would have accepted him. He is simply not obscure enough for them. Thank god there are enough sane crime fiction fans who have elevated Dutch to the position at the top that he deserves.
Nobody writes a first page as good as Elmore. He really hooks you in. When Chilli Palmer loses his jacket ..... it is the most innocuous thing. It snowballs into so much shit. This book has a great clue to how to disappear completely if you have a large debt which you cannot pay. Though I guess planes do not allow people to go for cocktails during a layover anymore.
Elmore is simply one of the greatest crime fiction writers ever. How the hell does he come up with so many cool names for his criminal characters? That in itself is a great talent. Crime fiction writers need to be measured on how many cool criminal names they can come up with. Elmore knows how to make it all very sexy while revealing so little. It is amazing how he builds up the Karen character. It is a great talent. He writes some of the most vivid female characters. Stand up comics. Clairvoyants. Cuckolders. Air Hostesses. Heiresses. He has a great imagination.
This is a great book about gangsters. About filmmaking. About marriages. Elmore packs it in like a great writer should. Long before Tarantino ever did. A movie script within a crime plot.
Something else I noticed. Another writer would have made Leo the hero. The lucky loser who made $300,000 grand off a plane crash. But not Elmore. Elmore is not a fan of weakness and stupidity. So you have the tough Chilli Palmer taking centerstage, tracking Leo down easily and relieving him of his money. It is very interesting that during the script discussions, all the Hollywood types were rooting for the Leo character. Chilli/Elmore did not think much of Leo. But I guess that is commentary on the nature of cinema and art in general. Certain people like the Leo character get designated as the underdog. Movies are based on these characters. It is the nature of the artist to be attracted to a person/character who seems to be the underdog. Even though the underdog is a bit of a fraud in this novel.
Elmore's books are long. This one was 360 pages. But it is full of interesting stuff. He chose the greatest milieu ever. The lowlife of the greatest country in the world.
Nobody writes a first page as good as Elmore. He really hooks you in. When Chilli Palmer loses his jacket ..... it is the most innocuous thing. It snowballs into so much shit. This book has a great clue to how to disappear completely if you have a large debt which you cannot pay. Though I guess planes do not allow people to go for cocktails during a layover anymore.
Elmore is simply one of the greatest crime fiction writers ever. How the hell does he come up with so many cool names for his criminal characters? That in itself is a great talent. Crime fiction writers need to be measured on how many cool criminal names they can come up with. Elmore knows how to make it all very sexy while revealing so little. It is amazing how he builds up the Karen character. It is a great talent. He writes some of the most vivid female characters. Stand up comics. Clairvoyants. Cuckolders. Air Hostesses. Heiresses. He has a great imagination.
This is a great book about gangsters. About filmmaking. About marriages. Elmore packs it in like a great writer should. Long before Tarantino ever did. A movie script within a crime plot.
Something else I noticed. Another writer would have made Leo the hero. The lucky loser who made $300,000 grand off a plane crash. But not Elmore. Elmore is not a fan of weakness and stupidity. So you have the tough Chilli Palmer taking centerstage, tracking Leo down easily and relieving him of his money. It is very interesting that during the script discussions, all the Hollywood types were rooting for the Leo character. Chilli/Elmore did not think much of Leo. But I guess that is commentary on the nature of cinema and art in general. Certain people like the Leo character get designated as the underdog. Movies are based on these characters. It is the nature of the artist to be attracted to a person/character who seems to be the underdog. Even though the underdog is a bit of a fraud in this novel.
Elmore's books are long. This one was 360 pages. But it is full of interesting stuff. He chose the greatest milieu ever. The lowlife of the greatest country in the world.
April 12, 2023
Get Shorty is one of Elmore Leonard's most entertaining novels with a cast populated by a group of great characters. Heading the group is a Miami loan shark named Chili Palmer who winds up in Hollywood while chasing down a guy who owes him money and who has done a great disappearing act.
Once in Hollywood, Chili becomes entangled with a small-time producer named Harry Zimm and with a former actress named Karen Flores who once stared in several of Zimm's horror/exploitation flicks. Harry is in hock to some loan sharks himself and is desperately trying to put together a deal to produce a Major Motion Picture titled "Mr. Lovejoy." He's hoping to get Hollywood superstar Michael Weir to agree to star in the film and if he can, he thinks he should have no trouble getting a major studio to do the film.
Chili Palmer loves the movies himself and, once in Hollywood, he decides that he might like to get into the movie business himself. He attempts to assist Harry in getting the loan sharks off his back while suggesting that he has a great idea for a movie of his own. But Harry can't help tripping over his own feet and spoiling Chili's efforts to make his life easier. Meanwhile, one of Chili's old adversaries from Miami now shows up in California, further complicating matters.
Even the minor characters are very well-drawn and entertaining--certainly no surprise in a novel by Elmore Leonard. There are lots of great twists and wonderful dialog. Mostly, this is a great sendup of Hollywood, the movie business, and the people who make films. A wonderful read that was made into a great film.
Once in Hollywood, Chili becomes entangled with a small-time producer named Harry Zimm and with a former actress named Karen Flores who once stared in several of Zimm's horror/exploitation flicks. Harry is in hock to some loan sharks himself and is desperately trying to put together a deal to produce a Major Motion Picture titled "Mr. Lovejoy." He's hoping to get Hollywood superstar Michael Weir to agree to star in the film and if he can, he thinks he should have no trouble getting a major studio to do the film.
Chili Palmer loves the movies himself and, once in Hollywood, he decides that he might like to get into the movie business himself. He attempts to assist Harry in getting the loan sharks off his back while suggesting that he has a great idea for a movie of his own. But Harry can't help tripping over his own feet and spoiling Chili's efforts to make his life easier. Meanwhile, one of Chili's old adversaries from Miami now shows up in California, further complicating matters.
Even the minor characters are very well-drawn and entertaining--certainly no surprise in a novel by Elmore Leonard. There are lots of great twists and wonderful dialog. Mostly, this is a great sendup of Hollywood, the movie business, and the people who make films. A wonderful read that was made into a great film.
December 13, 2018
The plot is both simplish & absurd--the showcase in this baby is truly its array of characters. Without so much description of their personas as actual lines of dialogue that exposes them richly, Leonard pretty much knew this one had Hollywood adaptation written all over it. Heck, the novel is all about Hollywood adaptations. So, although plenty of the circumstances that ricochet all over the "thematic fabric" seem laughable & flighty in the book, the inhabitants and their zippy, sarcastic, semiShakespearean lines make it an undoubted and resounding success. Also, I must mention that not in a long while in my most recent memory had I thought: Damn it if this novel couldn't've been several (a good deal several) pages longer!!
March 31, 2016
The 28th novel by Elmore Leonard is perhaps the one the author is best known. Published in 1990, Get Shorty might be the book to turn the man on the street from asking, "Elmore who?" to nodding his head and saying, "Oh, Elmore wrote that? Yeah, saw the movie! He's good!" The movie is not only a stellar entertainment, but ended a forty-odd year dry spell in which Hollywood seemed unable or unwilling to balance the explosiveness of Leonard's violence with the sweetness of his characters and their casual, often hilarious, dialogue. A Leonard revival followed with Jackie Brown and Out of Sight on film and Karen Sisco and Justified on TV.
The 1995 film version of Get Shorty hovers over the source material like an atmospheric disturbance in the Gulf and while far from reinventing the book -- most of the characters, much of the story, a lot of the dialogue and all of the spirit are the same -- screenwriter Scott Frank, producers Michael Shamberg, Stacy Sher & Danny DeVito and director Barry Sonnenfeld definitely improved on it. Fans of the movie might be disappointed, as I was.
The story kicks off in Miami Beach, where Ernesto "Chili" Palmer is looking for his coat. A loan shark nicknamed for his temper in the old days but lately for his cool demeanor, Chili was raised in Brooklyn as an Italian, but due to some Puerto Rican blood, can never become a made guy like the upper level Italians in the organization. Chili is fine with this, dismissive of the respect demanded by certain guys who, in his view, haven't earned it. This includes Ray Barboni, a guy with a barbell for a brain who works for the boss of the local operation. "Bones" helps himself to a coat in a coatroom which not only belongs to Chili and contains Chili's car keys but was a gift from his wife, Debbie.
Chili discusses office politics with his bookkeeping partner Tommy Carlo, who drives Chili to visit Bones and pleads with him not to say anything. "Don't worry about it. I won't say any more than I have to, if that." He put on his black leather gloves going up the stairs to the third floor, knocked on the door three times, waited, pulling his right-hand glove on tight, and when Ray Bones opened the door Chili nailed him. One punch, not seeing any need to throw the left. He got his coat from a chair in the sitting room, looked at Ray Bones bent over holding his nose and mouth, blood all over his hands, his shirt, and walked out. Didn't say one word to him.
The coat incident earns Chili a visit from Bones, who takes a couple of shots at him before Chili creases the dumbbell's skull with a bullet from his .38. Thirty stitches later and a discussion between the men's bosses, the dispute is quashed, but has the undesired effect of Chili's wife discovering that he's still associating with "those people." She blames the loss of their baby three months previous on his behavior and leaves him. Chili attracts a wide variety of waitresses, beauticians or sales clerks at Dadeland Mall with his confidence, but most of them play second fiddle to Chili's real love: movies.
If you're thinking, "What a mensch" you're probably alone. More on that later.
Twelve years later, Chili is phasing himself out of the loan shark business, doing collection work for local merchants and a couple of casinos in Las Vegas, as well as handling a few regular borrowers who only need an icy stare to pay up. Ray Bones is promoted and upon inheriting Chili, hassles him over a miss in his books: Leo Devoe, a drycleaner who's late on fifteen grand, plus twenty-seven hundred in interest over six weeks. Chili explains that Leo is late because he's dead, killed in a jet crash in the Everglades. Leo's wife Fay identified her husband's luggage in the wreck and the newspapers listed him as a victim, but when Chili visits Fay to confirm it, he's told that Leo lives.
Fay explains to Chili that her husband tried to duck out on his debt, but got nervous after his plane experienced mechanical problems. Leo was at the airport bar when the plane crashed on the runway. The airline awarded Fay a three-hundred thousand dollar settlement, which Leo disappeared with, most likely to Las Vegas, his dream travel destination. She offers Chili half of what's left of her money if he can get Leo.
The story jumps to Los Angeles, where Harry Zimm is doing some hiding of his own, crashing at the Westwood house of his ex-girlfriend, scream queen Karen Flores. She wakes Harry in the night when she hears the TV downstairs. Harry finds Chili Palmer in his study, here as a favor to the Mesa Casino of Las Vegas, which Harry owes one-hundred fifty thousand on a Lakers-Pistons game. Uncharacteristically, he also dropped a cashier's check he had on him for two-hundred thousand. Chili gets curious why.
"I produce feature motion pictures, no TV. You mentioned Grotesque, that happened to be Grotesque, Part Two Karen Flores was in. She starred in all three of my Slime Creatures releases you might have seen."
The guy, Chili was nodding as he came forward to lean on the desk.
"I think I got an idea for one, a movie."
And Harry said, "Yeah? What's it about?"
Get Shorty has a thrilling conceit: A loan shark from Miami chases a missing, presumed dead drycleaner in Los Angeles while associating with Hollywood people and trying to pitch a movie to a major star about a loan shark from Miami chasing a missing, presumed dead drycleaner in Los Angeles. Chili's movie idea develops as the real-life intrigue he's basing it on develops. Harry gushes to Chili that he's stumbled onto a goldmine, a script titled Mr. Lovejoy, a labor of love by the writer of Slime Creatures. The project has attracted the interest of Karen's ex-husband Michael Weir, a fickle talent whose commitment can make Harry a legit player.
Weir's agent has demanded half a million dollars in an escrow account before they'll meet with Harry, who lit out for Vegas and lost two-hundred thousand he'd stolen from investors for a schlockfest to be titled Freaks. The investors are Ronnie Wingate, a Santa Barbara rich kid who owns a limo company, and Bo Catlett, the hustler who runs the company. After rubbing elbows with enough Hollywood types, Catlett dreams of being a film producer. In exchange for seeing how a movie is put together, Chili agrees to sit in on a meeting with the limo guys to back them off Harry for a while, but Harry proves a lot dumber and Bo Catlett a lot smarter than Chili hoped for things to be that easy.
The novel is missing a couple of key features from the movie:
-- Ray Bones learns that Leo is alive and tracks Chili down to L.A., but as played by the late, great Dennis Farina in the film, is more of a loose string in the book. He never threatens Chili that much on the page, making him a weak bad guy. In the film, Bones not only beats Harry Zimm to a living pulp and shoots Ronnie Wingate -- both great scenes invented by the filmmakers that feel more "Elmore Leonard" than Elmore Leonard -- but threatens to derail Chili's film project far more viciously.
-- The limo guys have stashed one-hundred seventy five thousand in an airport locker that the DEA is watching, but after Catlett shoots a Colombian mule who refuses to accept this as payment for cocaine Catlett bought, there aren't any consequences. In the movie, the mule's uncle and henchman arrive in L.A., applying pressure to Catlett to make good for what he owes and accelerating the story to even more delightful speeds.
-- Michael Weir, played by Danny DeVito as Martin Weir, is far less interesting on the page, a flaky talent in the mold of Dustin Hoffman. The problem is that Weir was nowhere near as fun to read about as he might have been for Leonard to write. Also, the novel ends without any indication of whether Weir is going to commit to Chili's loan shark project or not. Chili, Karen and Harry just walk off the studio lot after meeting with him. The coda in the movie might be the best thing in it.
To Leonard's credit, when Michael Weir comments that Chili's pitch is the best he's ever heard, I'm inclined to agree. In the book, Chili meets Weir not through Karen but through Weir's girlfriend, a rock musician who remembers Chili from when she worked in Miami. She introduces Chili to her boyfriend, who has to stop the conversation when Weir realizes Chili is trying to pitch Mr. Lovejoy to him. The dialogue is golden Elmore Leonard, with each character's voice so distinct that Leonard rarely needs to modify it with the names of characters.
"You think I'm talking about wiseguy money," Chili said. "No way. This one's gonna be made by a studio."
It brought the movie star partway back.
"I'm not connected to those people anymore. Not since I walked out of a loan-shark operation in Miami."
That brought the movie star all the way back with questions in his eyes, sitting up, interested in the real stuff.
"What happened? The pressure got to you?"
"Pressure? I'm the one who applied the pressure."
"That's what I mean, the effect it must've had on you. What you had to do sometimes to collect."
"Like have some asshole's legs broken?"
"That, yeah, or some form of intimidation?"
"Whatever it takes," Chili said. "You're an actor, you like to pretend. Imagine you're the shylock. A guy owes you fifteen grand and he skips, leaves town."
"Yeah?"
"What do you do?"
All right, so I'm interested in Weir a bit more than I thought I was. This scene is wrought with terrific tension because Leonard has laid out how much Chili loves movies, how much he wants to get out of the loan-shark business and how much his life would change if this movie star finds Chili's hustle compelling.
What I didn't like, and was surprised by, is how the female characters in the book are portrayed. Elmore Leonard typically writes such resilient, laser sharp women and while Karen Flores is no dummy, she and almost every woman Chili lays eyes on is appraised by her looks first, her looks second, her mettle third and her looks fourth. Other than Karen mentioning that her father was a rocket scientist, I never felt she had much to offer beyond the image Chili had of her. They had no chemistry whatsoever. I love the way Leonard usually introduces a character, keying in on some unusual facet of their personality, but I can tell when I'm not with a novel when I feel no compulsion to update my Goodreads status feed with a paragraph and I didn't here.
Get Shorty is an old neon sign with five stars, the one in the middle blinking and threatening to leave two stars at any time. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because I'm sure if I hadn't seen the movie already, I would've enjoyed the novel a bit more, and it's Elmore Leonard. It doesn't come together in a compelling way, stranding certain characters and letting ideas buzz away, but it's an old neon sign and still completely enchanting to watch.
Here's my list of Elmore Leonard novels ranked from favorite to least favorite:
1. Stick (1983)
2. Killshot (1989)
3. Pronto (1993)
4. Get Shorty (1990)
5. LaBrava (1983)
The 1995 film version of Get Shorty hovers over the source material like an atmospheric disturbance in the Gulf and while far from reinventing the book -- most of the characters, much of the story, a lot of the dialogue and all of the spirit are the same -- screenwriter Scott Frank, producers Michael Shamberg, Stacy Sher & Danny DeVito and director Barry Sonnenfeld definitely improved on it. Fans of the movie might be disappointed, as I was.
The story kicks off in Miami Beach, where Ernesto "Chili" Palmer is looking for his coat. A loan shark nicknamed for his temper in the old days but lately for his cool demeanor, Chili was raised in Brooklyn as an Italian, but due to some Puerto Rican blood, can never become a made guy like the upper level Italians in the organization. Chili is fine with this, dismissive of the respect demanded by certain guys who, in his view, haven't earned it. This includes Ray Barboni, a guy with a barbell for a brain who works for the boss of the local operation. "Bones" helps himself to a coat in a coatroom which not only belongs to Chili and contains Chili's car keys but was a gift from his wife, Debbie.
Chili discusses office politics with his bookkeeping partner Tommy Carlo, who drives Chili to visit Bones and pleads with him not to say anything. "Don't worry about it. I won't say any more than I have to, if that." He put on his black leather gloves going up the stairs to the third floor, knocked on the door three times, waited, pulling his right-hand glove on tight, and when Ray Bones opened the door Chili nailed him. One punch, not seeing any need to throw the left. He got his coat from a chair in the sitting room, looked at Ray Bones bent over holding his nose and mouth, blood all over his hands, his shirt, and walked out. Didn't say one word to him.
The coat incident earns Chili a visit from Bones, who takes a couple of shots at him before Chili creases the dumbbell's skull with a bullet from his .38. Thirty stitches later and a discussion between the men's bosses, the dispute is quashed, but has the undesired effect of Chili's wife discovering that he's still associating with "those people." She blames the loss of their baby three months previous on his behavior and leaves him. Chili attracts a wide variety of waitresses, beauticians or sales clerks at Dadeland Mall with his confidence, but most of them play second fiddle to Chili's real love: movies.
If you're thinking, "What a mensch" you're probably alone. More on that later.
Twelve years later, Chili is phasing himself out of the loan shark business, doing collection work for local merchants and a couple of casinos in Las Vegas, as well as handling a few regular borrowers who only need an icy stare to pay up. Ray Bones is promoted and upon inheriting Chili, hassles him over a miss in his books: Leo Devoe, a drycleaner who's late on fifteen grand, plus twenty-seven hundred in interest over six weeks. Chili explains that Leo is late because he's dead, killed in a jet crash in the Everglades. Leo's wife Fay identified her husband's luggage in the wreck and the newspapers listed him as a victim, but when Chili visits Fay to confirm it, he's told that Leo lives.
Fay explains to Chili that her husband tried to duck out on his debt, but got nervous after his plane experienced mechanical problems. Leo was at the airport bar when the plane crashed on the runway. The airline awarded Fay a three-hundred thousand dollar settlement, which Leo disappeared with, most likely to Las Vegas, his dream travel destination. She offers Chili half of what's left of her money if he can get Leo.
The story jumps to Los Angeles, where Harry Zimm is doing some hiding of his own, crashing at the Westwood house of his ex-girlfriend, scream queen Karen Flores. She wakes Harry in the night when she hears the TV downstairs. Harry finds Chili Palmer in his study, here as a favor to the Mesa Casino of Las Vegas, which Harry owes one-hundred fifty thousand on a Lakers-Pistons game. Uncharacteristically, he also dropped a cashier's check he had on him for two-hundred thousand. Chili gets curious why.
"I produce feature motion pictures, no TV. You mentioned Grotesque, that happened to be Grotesque, Part Two Karen Flores was in. She starred in all three of my Slime Creatures releases you might have seen."
The guy, Chili was nodding as he came forward to lean on the desk.
"I think I got an idea for one, a movie."
And Harry said, "Yeah? What's it about?"
Get Shorty has a thrilling conceit: A loan shark from Miami chases a missing, presumed dead drycleaner in Los Angeles while associating with Hollywood people and trying to pitch a movie to a major star about a loan shark from Miami chasing a missing, presumed dead drycleaner in Los Angeles. Chili's movie idea develops as the real-life intrigue he's basing it on develops. Harry gushes to Chili that he's stumbled onto a goldmine, a script titled Mr. Lovejoy, a labor of love by the writer of Slime Creatures. The project has attracted the interest of Karen's ex-husband Michael Weir, a fickle talent whose commitment can make Harry a legit player.
Weir's agent has demanded half a million dollars in an escrow account before they'll meet with Harry, who lit out for Vegas and lost two-hundred thousand he'd stolen from investors for a schlockfest to be titled Freaks. The investors are Ronnie Wingate, a Santa Barbara rich kid who owns a limo company, and Bo Catlett, the hustler who runs the company. After rubbing elbows with enough Hollywood types, Catlett dreams of being a film producer. In exchange for seeing how a movie is put together, Chili agrees to sit in on a meeting with the limo guys to back them off Harry for a while, but Harry proves a lot dumber and Bo Catlett a lot smarter than Chili hoped for things to be that easy.
The novel is missing a couple of key features from the movie:
-- Ray Bones learns that Leo is alive and tracks Chili down to L.A., but as played by the late, great Dennis Farina in the film, is more of a loose string in the book. He never threatens Chili that much on the page, making him a weak bad guy. In the film, Bones not only beats Harry Zimm to a living pulp and shoots Ronnie Wingate -- both great scenes invented by the filmmakers that feel more "Elmore Leonard" than Elmore Leonard -- but threatens to derail Chili's film project far more viciously.
-- The limo guys have stashed one-hundred seventy five thousand in an airport locker that the DEA is watching, but after Catlett shoots a Colombian mule who refuses to accept this as payment for cocaine Catlett bought, there aren't any consequences. In the movie, the mule's uncle and henchman arrive in L.A., applying pressure to Catlett to make good for what he owes and accelerating the story to even more delightful speeds.
-- Michael Weir, played by Danny DeVito as Martin Weir, is far less interesting on the page, a flaky talent in the mold of Dustin Hoffman. The problem is that Weir was nowhere near as fun to read about as he might have been for Leonard to write. Also, the novel ends without any indication of whether Weir is going to commit to Chili's loan shark project or not. Chili, Karen and Harry just walk off the studio lot after meeting with him. The coda in the movie might be the best thing in it.
To Leonard's credit, when Michael Weir comments that Chili's pitch is the best he's ever heard, I'm inclined to agree. In the book, Chili meets Weir not through Karen but through Weir's girlfriend, a rock musician who remembers Chili from when she worked in Miami. She introduces Chili to her boyfriend, who has to stop the conversation when Weir realizes Chili is trying to pitch Mr. Lovejoy to him. The dialogue is golden Elmore Leonard, with each character's voice so distinct that Leonard rarely needs to modify it with the names of characters.
"You think I'm talking about wiseguy money," Chili said. "No way. This one's gonna be made by a studio."
It brought the movie star partway back.
"I'm not connected to those people anymore. Not since I walked out of a loan-shark operation in Miami."
That brought the movie star all the way back with questions in his eyes, sitting up, interested in the real stuff.
"What happened? The pressure got to you?"
"Pressure? I'm the one who applied the pressure."
"That's what I mean, the effect it must've had on you. What you had to do sometimes to collect."
"Like have some asshole's legs broken?"
"That, yeah, or some form of intimidation?"
"Whatever it takes," Chili said. "You're an actor, you like to pretend. Imagine you're the shylock. A guy owes you fifteen grand and he skips, leaves town."
"Yeah?"
"What do you do?"
All right, so I'm interested in Weir a bit more than I thought I was. This scene is wrought with terrific tension because Leonard has laid out how much Chili loves movies, how much he wants to get out of the loan-shark business and how much his life would change if this movie star finds Chili's hustle compelling.
What I didn't like, and was surprised by, is how the female characters in the book are portrayed. Elmore Leonard typically writes such resilient, laser sharp women and while Karen Flores is no dummy, she and almost every woman Chili lays eyes on is appraised by her looks first, her looks second, her mettle third and her looks fourth. Other than Karen mentioning that her father was a rocket scientist, I never felt she had much to offer beyond the image Chili had of her. They had no chemistry whatsoever. I love the way Leonard usually introduces a character, keying in on some unusual facet of their personality, but I can tell when I'm not with a novel when I feel no compulsion to update my Goodreads status feed with a paragraph and I didn't here.
Get Shorty is an old neon sign with five stars, the one in the middle blinking and threatening to leave two stars at any time. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because I'm sure if I hadn't seen the movie already, I would've enjoyed the novel a bit more, and it's Elmore Leonard. It doesn't come together in a compelling way, stranding certain characters and letting ideas buzz away, but it's an old neon sign and still completely enchanting to watch.
Here's my list of Elmore Leonard novels ranked from favorite to least favorite:
1. Stick (1983)
2. Killshot (1989)
3. Pronto (1993)
4. Get Shorty (1990)
5. LaBrava (1983)
October 19, 2022
“What you don’t understand,” Catlett said, “is what the movie is saying. You live clean, the shit gets taken care of somehow or other. That’s what the movie’s about.”
“You believe that?”
“In movies, yeah. Movies haven’t got nothing to do with real life.”
“You believe that?”
“In movies, yeah. Movies haven’t got nothing to do with real life.”
May 24, 2022
I picked up a copy of this novel for a couple of bucks because it looked like a quick, easy read - this is the first Elmore Leonard novel I have read.
The synopsis on the back cover does the storyline justice - Mob-connected loan shark Chili Palmer is sick of the Miami grind—plus his “friends” have a bad habit of dying there. So when he chases a deadbeat client out to Hollywood, Chili figures he might like to stay. This town, with its dream-makers, glitter, hucksters, and liars—plus gorgeous, partially clad would-be starlets everywhere you look—seems ideal for an enterprising criminal with a taste for the cinematic. Besides, Chili’s got an idea for a killer movie, though it could very possibly kill him to get it made.
Chili Palmer is undoubtedly the lovable rouge character - a tough guy who does his best not to resort to violence, a deep thinker, and a guy who takes the big picture into account. He is the likeable character of the book, along with Karen Flores - the actress who got parts in scream movies at the start of her career (based on her looks at her scream), but doesn't get many parts now.
There is a complex web, multiple storylines which weave together, but all revolve around Chili Palmer, and they all get wrapped up at the end.
Short and quick. 3 stars.
The synopsis on the back cover does the storyline justice - Mob-connected loan shark Chili Palmer is sick of the Miami grind—plus his “friends” have a bad habit of dying there. So when he chases a deadbeat client out to Hollywood, Chili figures he might like to stay. This town, with its dream-makers, glitter, hucksters, and liars—plus gorgeous, partially clad would-be starlets everywhere you look—seems ideal for an enterprising criminal with a taste for the cinematic. Besides, Chili’s got an idea for a killer movie, though it could very possibly kill him to get it made.
Chili Palmer is undoubtedly the lovable rouge character - a tough guy who does his best not to resort to violence, a deep thinker, and a guy who takes the big picture into account. He is the likeable character of the book, along with Karen Flores - the actress who got parts in scream movies at the start of her career (based on her looks at her scream), but doesn't get many parts now.
There is a complex web, multiple storylines which weave together, but all revolve around Chili Palmer, and they all get wrapped up at the end.
Short and quick. 3 stars.
March 25, 2021
Elmore Leonard is such an amazing author! His books are so much fun to read. It's been awhile since I last read anything thing of his. This story was a refreshing breath of fresh air in the sense that the writing and storytelling are so tremendous. I absolutely love Leonard's somewhat minimalistic approach to writing. There's not a lot of words wasted on descriptions and yet I'm still able to get a clear picture in my mind. As with the other Elmore Leonard books I've read, what makes this one special is the dialogue. He's one of the very best at writing dialogue. If I had one small complaint, it would be this: I've not seen the 90s film adaptation but I'm aware that John Travolta plays Chili. Because of this, while I was reading, Travolta was all I could see/hear in my head. I'm not particularly fond of Travolta. I realize this is through no fault of Elmore Leonard and that's why I didn't take any stars away. I would recommend this and I can't wait to read the sequel!
June 11, 2020
Adapted from the book jacket: A novel that proves the successful crook has all the job skills required to make it in Hollywood. The book follows Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark with a talent for making a slow pay come across by saying just three words. Chili’s pursuit of a mark who’s behind in his payments takes him first to Las Vegas, and then to Hollywood and horror-film producer Harry Zimm.
My reactions
This was just plain fun. I’d never seen the movie (starring John Travolta as Chili, and Gene Hackman as Harry), so had no real idea what to expect, other than a wild ride. And Leonard definitely delivers on the “wild ride” promise.
There are more subplots that you can shake a stick at, and more than a few obstacles / distractions for Chili to handle. There’s also a slow-burning romantic interest in Harry’s ex, Karen Flores, known for her excellent screaming in some of Harry’s horror spectaculars, and a woman with brains and a cool head in a crisis.
Odd coincidence … I was getting ready for bed, brushing my teeth, when I heard the TV that my husband had on in the bedroom. “Harry Zimm” Well, of course it was the movie … I only caught the last 30 minutes or so of it, but I can see why it was such a hit.
My reactions
This was just plain fun. I’d never seen the movie (starring John Travolta as Chili, and Gene Hackman as Harry), so had no real idea what to expect, other than a wild ride. And Leonard definitely delivers on the “wild ride” promise.
There are more subplots that you can shake a stick at, and more than a few obstacles / distractions for Chili to handle. There’s also a slow-burning romantic interest in Harry’s ex, Karen Flores, known for her excellent screaming in some of Harry’s horror spectaculars, and a woman with brains and a cool head in a crisis.
Odd coincidence … I was getting ready for bed, brushing my teeth, when I heard the TV that my husband had on in the bedroom. “Harry Zimm” Well, of course it was the movie … I only caught the last 30 minutes or so of it, but I can see why it was such a hit.
July 16, 2017
I love just about all the books this guy has ever written. His characters are quirky and colorful, his plots always a bit offbeat. And this story of a small-time hood trying to break into the movie business as a producer is no exception.
Elmore leonard is considered a crime writer, yet his characters are rarely (if ever) detectives, policemen, or private eyes. Now that's a challenge! He is definitely a one-of-a-kind author.
It's no wonder that Hollywood has made so many movies out of his books!
Elmore leonard is considered a crime writer, yet his characters are rarely (if ever) detectives, policemen, or private eyes. Now that's a challenge! He is definitely a one-of-a-kind author.
It's no wonder that Hollywood has made so many movies out of his books!
September 2, 2021
“What’re you going to call it, Chili’s Hollywood Adventure?”
“That’s a different story. I like it, though, so far.”
She said, “What happens next?”
Get Shorty is a 1990 novel about “Chili” Palmer - a Miami shylock –who was “tired of showing respect to people he thought were assholes.” After his crew boss became Ray Bones, a mobster who he’s had a longstanding strife with, Chili was sent to recover money owed by Leo the drycleaner, who had skipped town for Las Vegas. The trail took Chili all the way to L.A. where he encountered Harry Zimm, a horror film maker. Chili grasped the opportunity to phase himself “out of the shylock business” instead fancied becoming a movie producer.
This was a fun story with an interesting, multi-layered plot. I loved seeing how all the pieces connected. And Chili Palmer’s character carried the book. He’s smart, charismatic, savvy, and opportunistic. He’s a cool guy with a cool name. People either hate him or want to be him.
As much as I liked the story, I would definitely pick the 1995 film over the book. All the things that irritated me about the book, the film got right. Firstly, the film had exceptional casting – I cannot unsee John Travolta as Chili Palmer, which helped its case. It showed all the best scenes from the book while it cut out extraneous stuff that cluttered the text. This clutter – banal junk that Harry babbles on about, fictional movie scenes discussed, characters talking about or imagining alternate realities of what might have happened – made the book an uneven read for me. There were times I was engaged with it, then I would grow bored and skim pages, only to get to a better section that would again hold my attention.
I had read about 20% of the book when I watched the film. I’m so glad I saw the film first! Something that was peppered throughout the text, that readers will piece together in bits slowly, was turned into a final reveal at the end of the movie. The film version of this was clever and had me saying, “ah, ha, that’s what was going on!”
In both the film and book, you can expect that the characters are rude, posture, and use profanity frequently. They are insensitive to females and minorities. Women are objectified. Tidy murders happen. And the romance attempt fell short .
This was my first venture into Leonard’s work. Despite the shortcomings I felt the book had, it will be one I remember, if for nothing else, for the fantastic characters, of which I only mentioned Chili but just about all of them were iconic.
A few great quotes:
“That’s a different story. I like it, though, so far.”
She said, “What happens next?”
Get Shorty is a 1990 novel about “Chili” Palmer - a Miami shylock –who was “tired of showing respect to people he thought were assholes.” After his crew boss became Ray Bones, a mobster who he’s had a longstanding strife with, Chili was sent to recover money owed by Leo the drycleaner, who had skipped town for Las Vegas. The trail took Chili all the way to L.A. where he encountered Harry Zimm, a horror film maker. Chili grasped the opportunity to phase himself “out of the shylock business” instead fancied becoming a movie producer.
This was a fun story with an interesting, multi-layered plot. I loved seeing how all the pieces connected. And Chili Palmer’s character carried the book. He’s smart, charismatic, savvy, and opportunistic. He’s a cool guy with a cool name. People either hate him or want to be him.
As much as I liked the story, I would definitely pick the 1995 film over the book. All the things that irritated me about the book, the film got right. Firstly, the film had exceptional casting – I cannot unsee John Travolta as Chili Palmer, which helped its case. It showed all the best scenes from the book while it cut out extraneous stuff that cluttered the text. This clutter – banal junk that Harry babbles on about, fictional movie scenes discussed, characters talking about or imagining alternate realities of what might have happened – made the book an uneven read for me. There were times I was engaged with it, then I would grow bored and skim pages, only to get to a better section that would again hold my attention.
I had read about 20% of the book when I watched the film. I’m so glad I saw the film first! Something that was peppered throughout the text, that readers will piece together in bits slowly, was turned into a final reveal at the end of the movie. The film version of this was clever and had me saying, “ah, ha, that’s what was going on!”
In both the film and book, you can expect that the characters are rude, posture, and use profanity frequently. They are insensitive to females and minorities. Women are objectified. Tidy murders happen. And the romance attempt fell short .
This was my first venture into Leonard’s work. Despite the shortcomings I felt the book had, it will be one I remember, if for nothing else, for the fantastic characters, of which I only mentioned Chili but just about all of them were iconic.
A few great quotes:
"Who’s the good guy? You don’t have one.”
Chili said, “The shylock’s the good guy.”
Sounding surprised. Harry said, “You kidding me? “
“You’re a cool guy, Chili, without even trying.”
”Nice irony. The ex-mob guy telling Harry to look out for the limo guys, they’re crooks.”
November 12, 2020
درخشان، خواندنش مانند دیدن یک فیلم میمونه،تمامش رو تجسم میکنید و خیلی راحت لذتش رو میبرید.
October 26, 2018
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
*ahem*
Ok, I have myself under control. I can do this.
‘Get Shorty’ by Elmore Leonard could be arguably the author’s finest work. Not only is it very meta being a fictional story written about a fictional story about writing a fictional story, it has an amusing plot full of amusing and stereotypical classic characters. It is about various people, modeled probably on real people Leonard had met in Hollywood, who are wanting to break into the inner circle of those who make Hollywood movies, AND the novel Leonard wrote WAS made into a real movie for reals!
Guffaw!
Excuse me. I keep dropping and rolling on the floor in helpless laughter. Excuse me.
Youtube link to the movie trailer:
https://youtu.be/yNLaTtpovys
Mafioso Ernesto “Chili” Palmer is a character right out of mobster central casting except he is the real deal, that is, a character in ‘Get Shorty’ who is a fictional ‘real’ loan shark living in Florida. He can’t be completely part of the Mafia because he is Puerto Rican on his father’s side, but on his mother’s side he has uncles connected to a Brooklyn crew.
Chili does not really enjoy having to show respect to those fully connected because he often saw them be and talk idiotic, but he is content with his permanent lower status with the mafia. He and his ex-wife Debbie liked the benefits that came with the respect locals and business people had for him when they were aware of who Chili worked for - at least until Debbie got pregnant. She gave him an ultimatum - get out of the business - so he lied and said he had when they moved to Florida from Brooklyn. As far as she knew, he sold restaurant supplies in their new home.
Debbie learned the truth when Ray Barboni, another mafioso, stole Chili’s jacket. Chili got the jacket back after breaking Barboni’s nose, but there was a slight kerfuffle after that - a shootout. Barboni’s boss talked it over with Chili’s boss, and they decided to forget it. However, Debbie overheard and decided her miscarriage happened because Chili was still working for the Brooklyn crew. She walked away from the marriage, and Chili continued to be a quick-loan “shylock” for his boss.
Twelve years later, Chili’s boss was killed and Barboni’s boss put Barboni in charge of the loan racket. Chili was almost out of it anyway by this time, doing only occasional car repossessions and collection work. He no longer could show respect, and it was noticed. When Barboni checked Chili’s collection book, he noticed a debt left open. It turned out it was Leo Devoe, a dry-cleaner, who had died in a plane crash. Barboni decided if the widow, Fay, had received insurance he was going to collect the debt. So Barboni sends Chili to see Fay. Unexpectedly Chili discovers Leo is alive and living in Las Vegas, with the insurance money, having deserted Fay.
Well. The story moves forward, and so do Chili and Leo, to Los Angeles where after many amusing and amazing turns of plot later, Chili ends up getting into the movie business. He meets a few more interesting people, among them more criminals, a movie star, several producers and agents and a gorgeous ex-scream queen. Barboni follows Chili to California and also tries to deal himself into the various cons and plans which have popped up when he learns there is a lot of money - $400,000, possibly - still floating around, maybe.
Hollywood movie people are known as being cutthroat, and so are Chili’s former associates. Will Chili survive? If he does end up dead, it will certainly be with a considerable amount of fun beforehand.
“Fucking endings, man, they weren’t as easy as they looked.”
*snort*
*ahem*
Ok, I have myself under control. I can do this.
‘Get Shorty’ by Elmore Leonard could be arguably the author’s finest work. Not only is it very meta being a fictional story written about a fictional story about writing a fictional story, it has an amusing plot full of amusing and stereotypical classic characters. It is about various people, modeled probably on real people Leonard had met in Hollywood, who are wanting to break into the inner circle of those who make Hollywood movies, AND the novel Leonard wrote WAS made into a real movie for reals!
Guffaw!
Excuse me. I keep dropping and rolling on the floor in helpless laughter. Excuse me.
Youtube link to the movie trailer:
https://youtu.be/yNLaTtpovys
Mafioso Ernesto “Chili” Palmer is a character right out of mobster central casting except he is the real deal, that is, a character in ‘Get Shorty’ who is a fictional ‘real’ loan shark living in Florida. He can’t be completely part of the Mafia because he is Puerto Rican on his father’s side, but on his mother’s side he has uncles connected to a Brooklyn crew.
Chili does not really enjoy having to show respect to those fully connected because he often saw them be and talk idiotic, but he is content with his permanent lower status with the mafia. He and his ex-wife Debbie liked the benefits that came with the respect locals and business people had for him when they were aware of who Chili worked for - at least until Debbie got pregnant. She gave him an ultimatum - get out of the business - so he lied and said he had when they moved to Florida from Brooklyn. As far as she knew, he sold restaurant supplies in their new home.
Debbie learned the truth when Ray Barboni, another mafioso, stole Chili’s jacket. Chili got the jacket back after breaking Barboni’s nose, but there was a slight kerfuffle after that - a shootout. Barboni’s boss talked it over with Chili’s boss, and they decided to forget it. However, Debbie overheard and decided her miscarriage happened because Chili was still working for the Brooklyn crew. She walked away from the marriage, and Chili continued to be a quick-loan “shylock” for his boss.
Twelve years later, Chili’s boss was killed and Barboni’s boss put Barboni in charge of the loan racket. Chili was almost out of it anyway by this time, doing only occasional car repossessions and collection work. He no longer could show respect, and it was noticed. When Barboni checked Chili’s collection book, he noticed a debt left open. It turned out it was Leo Devoe, a dry-cleaner, who had died in a plane crash. Barboni decided if the widow, Fay, had received insurance he was going to collect the debt. So Barboni sends Chili to see Fay. Unexpectedly Chili discovers Leo is alive and living in Las Vegas, with the insurance money, having deserted Fay.
Well. The story moves forward, and so do Chili and Leo, to Los Angeles where after many amusing and amazing turns of plot later, Chili ends up getting into the movie business. He meets a few more interesting people, among them more criminals, a movie star, several producers and agents and a gorgeous ex-scream queen. Barboni follows Chili to California and also tries to deal himself into the various cons and plans which have popped up when he learns there is a lot of money - $400,000, possibly - still floating around, maybe.
Hollywood movie people are known as being cutthroat, and so are Chili’s former associates. Will Chili survive? If he does end up dead, it will certainly be with a considerable amount of fun beforehand.
“Fucking endings, man, they weren’t as easy as they looked.”
*snort*
January 28, 2021
I liked the dialogue, I liked the plot and the characters, the writing was great. Just wasn't a fan of the pacing and felt it had something missing. I've got quite a few more Leonard books on my TBR so I will definitely pick up another novel of his.
April 30, 2018
What a read. It's so funny I thought my pants would never dry.
The main character, Chili Palmer is just so cool. Chili, a small time loan shark get by by impling violence to non paying customers. The threats are always delivered with Chili's own brand of dry humor.
Did you know it was Chili who first said these immortal words" look at me".
This is about Hollywood meets the Mob.
Chili goes to Hollywood chasing a guy who owes him money. Along the way Chili meets some low level movie types and decides the movie life might be the go for him. Before long Chili goes into the movie business and the film producers all want to be mobsters. It's a farce but what an entertaining farce it is.
During his life Elmore Leonard was long associated with the movie industry and had some serious run-ins with the moguls of the industry. Get Shorty is Leonard's tongue in cheek finger poke at Hollywood.
Highly recommended.
The main character, Chili Palmer is just so cool. Chili, a small time loan shark get by by impling violence to non paying customers. The threats are always delivered with Chili's own brand of dry humor.
Did you know it was Chili who first said these immortal words" look at me".
This is about Hollywood meets the Mob.
Chili goes to Hollywood chasing a guy who owes him money. Along the way Chili meets some low level movie types and decides the movie life might be the go for him. Before long Chili goes into the movie business and the film producers all want to be mobsters. It's a farce but what an entertaining farce it is.
During his life Elmore Leonard was long associated with the movie industry and had some serious run-ins with the moguls of the industry. Get Shorty is Leonard's tongue in cheek finger poke at Hollywood.
Highly recommended.
August 30, 2021
Fast paced, engaging and fun!
Having seen the John Travolta film numerous times and loved it, I was curious how far it strays from the novel. For those familiar with Leonard, you know he specializes in unique approaches to crime and this one is right up his alley. While the movie is filled with humor, the book is focused on the movie trade and how ideas make it to the screen. Rather than go into character portrayals, plot lines and story that are different from the film, suffice it to say it's a deep chasm. Chili Palmer is a terrific character and would love to see him show up in other stories, though Elmore did bring him back in Be Cool. Unlike most crime plots there are few if any twists, but they're really unnecessary since this is character driven. In closing this is the first ebook I've read that includes a synopsis of every book by the author, an interview and writing tips! A great story and well worth reading!
Having seen the John Travolta film numerous times and loved it, I was curious how far it strays from the novel. For those familiar with Leonard, you know he specializes in unique approaches to crime and this one is right up his alley. While the movie is filled with humor, the book is focused on the movie trade and how ideas make it to the screen. Rather than go into character portrayals, plot lines and story that are different from the film, suffice it to say it's a deep chasm. Chili Palmer is a terrific character and would love to see him show up in other stories, though Elmore did bring him back in Be Cool. Unlike most crime plots there are few if any twists, but they're really unnecessary since this is character driven. In closing this is the first ebook I've read that includes a synopsis of every book by the author, an interview and writing tips! A great story and well worth reading!
July 17, 2016
I would call this spoof noir. It has all the noir elements you'd find in a Raymond Chandler novel, but not only none of the darkness, but humor enough for smiles throughout. Chili Palmer is not your stereotypical loan shark. Collecting is just business. Hurting people who don't pay shouldn't be necessary when all you have to do is look at them with that certain look.
Neither is this any sort of stereotypical crime novel. Which are the good guys and which the bad isn't as obvious as it should be. Or at least it isn't as obvious when they are introduced, and, then, well, maybe... But then, maybe being a shylock isn't the only job in the world.
This was just too fun! Pulp fiction that is so much better than pulp fiction. It's a 4-plus or a 5-minus. Because of its genre, I can't quite bring myself to give it 5 stars. I think others might, though, because yes, it's fun!
Neither is this any sort of stereotypical crime novel. Which are the good guys and which the bad isn't as obvious as it should be. Or at least it isn't as obvious when they are introduced, and, then, well, maybe... But then, maybe being a shylock isn't the only job in the world.
This was just too fun! Pulp fiction that is so much better than pulp fiction. It's a 4-plus or a 5-minus. Because of its genre, I can't quite bring myself to give it 5 stars. I think others might, though, because yes, it's fun!
September 28, 2025
I’d never read Elmore Leonard before this, but I’d seen a few movies adapted from his work, watched Justified, and just sort of generally feel like there’s a million authors and filmmakers out there who cite the guy as a major influence that I figured I had a pretty good idea of what to expect going in to Get Shorty. And plot wise, that’s very much the case. This book is exactly what you think it is: a gangster goes to Hollywood, decides he wants to start making movies, and a web of hi-jinx and double crosses ensues.
What actually ended up surprising me about the book wasn’t what it was doing but how it was doing it. Really minimal prose that conveys a ton of emotion and action, super punchy dialogue, just a style of writing that effectively threads a needle between being cinematic and natural sounding. Leonard’s style is a ton of fun, and picking this up directly after reading a 900 million billion page fantasy doorstop made for the perfect palate cleanser.
I listened to the audio book for this one and I am going to take one star off because that audio book is pretty poorly done. It’s read by Joe Mantegna, who spreads about three character voices across the entire cast of characters, uses those voices inconsistently, occasionally just not bothering with character voices at all, and then will often just fall in to using the voice he does for Fat Tony on The Simpsons for long stretches of the book. Sometimes you’ll have a scene with multiple characters talking who all sound like Fat Tony, and it will just be one Fat Tony talking to another Fat Tony about a third Fat Tony while a fourth Fat Tony narrates the whole thing, until it’s just a kaleidoscope of Fat Tonies stretching out in to infinity with no sense of where one ends and the next begins. I love Fat Tony, on a list of secondary Simpsons characters he’s in my top tier easily. I do not love Fat Tony this much. Four stars!
What actually ended up surprising me about the book wasn’t what it was doing but how it was doing it. Really minimal prose that conveys a ton of emotion and action, super punchy dialogue, just a style of writing that effectively threads a needle between being cinematic and natural sounding. Leonard’s style is a ton of fun, and picking this up directly after reading a 900 million billion page fantasy doorstop made for the perfect palate cleanser.
I listened to the audio book for this one and I am going to take one star off because that audio book is pretty poorly done. It’s read by Joe Mantegna, who spreads about three character voices across the entire cast of characters, uses those voices inconsistently, occasionally just not bothering with character voices at all, and then will often just fall in to using the voice he does for Fat Tony on The Simpsons for long stretches of the book. Sometimes you’ll have a scene with multiple characters talking who all sound like Fat Tony, and it will just be one Fat Tony talking to another Fat Tony about a third Fat Tony while a fourth Fat Tony narrates the whole thing, until it’s just a kaleidoscope of Fat Tonies stretching out in to infinity with no sense of where one ends and the next begins. I love Fat Tony, on a list of secondary Simpsons characters he’s in my top tier easily. I do not love Fat Tony this much. Four stars!
April 4, 2020
There are times when you come across something you honestly where not expecting - and this book I have to say is one of them.
I remember seeing the film some years ago and although I had no prejudices I was not expecting it to capture my attention - I was wrong, thoroughly enjoyed it. So some years later I had the chance of picking up the book it as based upon I gladly added it to my collection.
Here we are mid-lock down and I thought why not since my days are a mixture of working from home, reading or watch the TV. Yes you can see where my choices led me.
So here I am over 270 pages later realising that the book was as much fun as he film. Yes there are a lot of similarities (come on who has not read a book that was later turned in to a film only to realise the only similarity left is the title) and yet I didnt mind. What I really wanted to see was how Chili was going get out this situation or in to that one.
The book for obvious reasons makes a lot of film references which might date it a bit - however if anything it helps ground it, and although it is set in that world it reads like film nothing slow or extra padding it still is as concise as I remember the film. I see there is a second book - hmm wonder if I should explore that one too.
I remember seeing the film some years ago and although I had no prejudices I was not expecting it to capture my attention - I was wrong, thoroughly enjoyed it. So some years later I had the chance of picking up the book it as based upon I gladly added it to my collection.
Here we are mid-lock down and I thought why not since my days are a mixture of working from home, reading or watch the TV. Yes you can see where my choices led me.
So here I am over 270 pages later realising that the book was as much fun as he film. Yes there are a lot of similarities (come on who has not read a book that was later turned in to a film only to realise the only similarity left is the title) and yet I didnt mind. What I really wanted to see was how Chili was going get out this situation or in to that one.
The book for obvious reasons makes a lot of film references which might date it a bit - however if anything it helps ground it, and although it is set in that world it reads like film nothing slow or extra padding it still is as concise as I remember the film. I see there is a second book - hmm wonder if I should explore that one too.
May 13, 2023
05/2010
Fiction interlaced within fiction. The fourth wall is being broken. Pretty funny. Pretty clever. Perfection as always. What can I say? It's Elmore Leonard. He brings such a light touch to violence and crime; the writing is so good you don't even notice that there's writing. Speaking of violence, the last line slayed me: "Fuckin endings, man, they weren't as easy as they looked."
Fiction interlaced within fiction. The fourth wall is being broken. Pretty funny. Pretty clever. Perfection as always. What can I say? It's Elmore Leonard. He brings such a light touch to violence and crime; the writing is so good you don't even notice that there's writing. Speaking of violence, the last line slayed me: "Fuckin endings, man, they weren't as easy as they looked."
April 6, 2025
Meh. Great dialogue and some good scenes, but it was almost like reading a script, rather than a book. I ended up feeling that I’d prefer to watch the movie, which I may just do.
August 15, 2015
Fast paced, action packed. Never a dull moment. Pretty amused that it captures a screenplay within a screenplay. I never realized it was so Hollywood. Also, more Fun than I was expecting!
April 21, 2023
A masterful novel which weaves meta narrative and narrative beautifully. Great story and stand out characters.
July 21, 2017
Elmore Leonard is an author whose work I need to discover more of and having read the first Raylan Givens novel, Pronto as well as now Get Shorty, he’s already turning out to be one of my thriller writers. Like the blurb describes, nobody can write opening lines like this guy and he’s just so good. He finds a way of drawing you in, keeping you hooked and telling a compelling story that you won’t be able to put down.
Like many of Leonard’s novels Get Shorty has been adapted into a film and I decided that it would be a good idea to read the book before watching an adaption, unlike the case with the Raylan Givens novels, as to which I saw Justified first, and when I inevitably get around to reading the novel that inspired Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, it will be a similar story. Both are among my favourite films and TV shows respectively so it will only a matter of time before I check out the source material. Here the book explores how crazy Hollywood can get, by taking an outsider and putting him right in the middle of it. I was kind of reminded of Shane Black’s incredibly funny and awesome Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which puts an outsider in the middle of Hollywood, and Get Shorty just manages to really work.
The dialogue is excellent and Leonard really has a way of creating colourful characters that are even better than an already good plot. Chili Palmer is a fascinating character to read and a worthy lead, and everything really works well with the pace pulled off perfectly. It’s great to see how meta this book can get at times particularly with its focus on Hollywood and it’s interesting to learn that Leonard wrote this book based on his own experiences, managing to incorporate good jokes about the people that work in the industry.
The story focus on Ernesto “Chili” Palmer a man in Miami Beach, a loan shark who earned his nickname for his temper, and you can probably guess what problems this means for the character over the course of the book. He’s got a problem in that even though he’s part-Italian he can never become as well-off as the other full-Italians in the organization, because he also has some Peurto Rican blood in him which naturally means that he’s looked down upon. The characters that we meet are all really well crafted and instantly memorable as a result, with Leonard taking care to flesh out details like these that really makes things interesting.
Here we see Palmer struggling with both a drycleaner who is presumed dead in Los Angeles whilst trying to pitch a movie about his own life. The way this is handled and how both storylines are balanced is played remarkably well, and it’s great to see that Leonard manages to wrap this up as an effective standalone even if there is another Palmer-featuring novel out there which I will be checking out for sure.
Get Shorty is a heck of a lot of fun and I’m glad that I decided to get it when I saw it on my local Waterstones shelf because it’s not often that they have anything by Leonard. I may need to visit them again in the near future and hope that there’s more of his work there, because I can’t wait to check out what else the author has written.
December 13, 2012
I enjoyed watching the character Chili, but I was disappointed with unfinished events at the end.
The value of this book is watching a collection of characters and the shallowness of movie-making. It was different and good. But I can’t say I really liked it. Each time I put it down I had no desire to get back to it.
THE DRAW IS CHILI’S CHARACTER:
Chili is a wise guy loan shark. He doesn’t use a gun. His style of intimidation is quiet, making the victim imagine bad things will happen if he doesn’t pay. Before he makes a loan, Chili tries to talk the borrower out of it saying you really don’t want to borrow from me. But they are desperate and do it.
Chili goes to Los Angeles to collect from two of his clients who are hiding. Chili has an intriguing way of tracking them. I was impressed. While there Chili decides he likes the movie business and tells one of his borrowers Harry that they are now partners in Harry’s coming movie. Chili doesn’t invest money in this partnership, but he has a strange way of making things happen. There are a couple of guys causing problems for Chili. I like the way Chili responds when he’s in danger, how he quietly talks or doesn’t talk to the threat.
I was intrigued that Chili was able to talk to an A-list movie star when others couldn’t get to him. Chili used his typical methods for finding people. Chili had a way that got the guy interested.
PLOTS:
I wanted more of a traditional plot. When I read the last page, I couldn’t believe it was over because things were unresolved. Much of the book was planning and discussing two possible movies, but that plot was not finished.
A secondary plot involved Ray Bones who caused problems for Chili. Chili arranged a problem for Ray, but the reader didn’t get to see it. I wanted to watch Ray suffer or watch him get out of it some how. I was disappointed. I don’t want to make up my own endings.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 359 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual content: one sex scene vaguely described. Setting: around 1990 mostly Los Angeles, California, plus Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Copyright: 1990. Genre: wise-guy fiction.
The value of this book is watching a collection of characters and the shallowness of movie-making. It was different and good. But I can’t say I really liked it. Each time I put it down I had no desire to get back to it.
THE DRAW IS CHILI’S CHARACTER:
Chili is a wise guy loan shark. He doesn’t use a gun. His style of intimidation is quiet, making the victim imagine bad things will happen if he doesn’t pay. Before he makes a loan, Chili tries to talk the borrower out of it saying you really don’t want to borrow from me. But they are desperate and do it.
Chili goes to Los Angeles to collect from two of his clients who are hiding. Chili has an intriguing way of tracking them. I was impressed. While there Chili decides he likes the movie business and tells one of his borrowers Harry that they are now partners in Harry’s coming movie. Chili doesn’t invest money in this partnership, but he has a strange way of making things happen. There are a couple of guys causing problems for Chili. I like the way Chili responds when he’s in danger, how he quietly talks or doesn’t talk to the threat.
I was intrigued that Chili was able to talk to an A-list movie star when others couldn’t get to him. Chili used his typical methods for finding people. Chili had a way that got the guy interested.
PLOTS:
I wanted more of a traditional plot. When I read the last page, I couldn’t believe it was over because things were unresolved. Much of the book was planning and discussing two possible movies, but that plot was not finished.
A secondary plot involved Ray Bones who caused problems for Chili. Chili arranged a problem for Ray, but the reader didn’t get to see it. I wanted to watch Ray suffer or watch him get out of it some how. I was disappointed. I don’t want to make up my own endings.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 359 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual content: one sex scene vaguely described. Setting: around 1990 mostly Los Angeles, California, plus Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Copyright: 1990. Genre: wise-guy fiction.
February 28, 2016
This novel is the first appearance (to my knowledge) of “Chili Palmer” who also appears in Elmore Leonard’s novel Be Cool.
These two novels were never my favorite Elmore Leonard books mainly because both novels were the 1st I sensed that my favorite contemporary author of crime fiction was working from someone else’s research material.
The attempt to reference pop culture as it was in the 1990s seemed forced and a caricature of all things considered “hip” at the end of the 20th century.
This is the 1st Elmore Leonard novel that did not ring true for me.
I was unable to relate to the main character.
He was as alien to me as a Scientologist.
By contrast the “bad guy” Bo Catlett resonated.
This guy I got.
This guy I enjoyed reading about.
Despite all of that it’s an Elmore Leonard novel and it’s a pleasure to read.
It’s just not up to his earlier high standards or those of his later novels.
It’s a bump in the groove of an otherwise perfect track record for our finest post-World War II crime-fiction author.
August 16, 2020
Otra de mis lecturas esperadas del año que no defrauda. Un thriller en apariencia ligero pero que resulta delicioso una vez que le va pelando capas. Por principio de cuentas porque presenta una sátira bastante inteligente del negocio del cine. Dicen que Leonard tuvo un sinsabor en el “pueblo de oropel” (Tinseltown, AKA Hollywood). Que esta novela fue su venganza. Una venganza de lo más fina que logra establecer una historia bastante metaficticia, un diálogo muy vibrante (aunque cuesta un poco porque hay mucha jerga de usureros, de mafiosos y de gente del cine) y un personaje principal que actualiza al clásico pícaro con su manera de escapar de las situaciones más peliagudas. Y al final lo que es gracioso es que la novela se siente muy, pero muy cinemática.
September 28, 2018
Elmore Leonard has the reputation of being a good writer of crime fiction, but this one may not be one of those. The setting, Hollywood, and the plot, small time loan sharks and enforcers who suddenly are channeling their movie producer alter egos, never took flight for me. Too much sappy dialogue, characters not all that interesting. I wanted to say "CUT. Let's try it again."
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