Small-time Miami hood and loan shark Chili Palmer (Travolta) works for Ray "Bones" Barboni (Farina), who sends him to Vegas to collect a large gambling debt from cowardly dry-cleaner Leo Devoe (Paymer). While in Vegas, Chili picks up a juicier assignment from a casino boss: collect from Howard Zimm (Hackman), producer of low-budget horror films out in Hollywood. While trying to shake down Zimm, Palmer becomes acquainted with his hot star Karen Flores (Russo), her ex the big movie star Martin Weir (DeVito), and various other colorful characters on the cheaper end of Hollywood, which Chili finds is not so different from his line of work. He sets out to become a movie producer himself! This is a fast, funny, and hugely entertaining 1995 movie, based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. It's one of Travolta's best roles, and most of the rest of the cast -- which includes then-unknown James Gandolfini, Bette Midler, and, as themselves, Harvey Keitel and Penny Marshall -- are not too shabby either.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
