Get Shorty (1995)

A crime comedy this tight would be a miracle today. In 1995 it was just Tuesday.

Get Shorty is a tight script - funny, packed with action, effortlessly cool. I was surprised how much I liked it, though I shouldn’t have been. This is what 90s crime capers did well: stacked casts, snappy dialogue, plots that move, and a sense that everyone involved was having a good time.

I mourn the loss of these movies. This would feel like an event today - a crime comedy this well-constructed would be treated as a miracle. In 1995 it was basically a throwaway. Just another Elmore Leonard adaptation with Travolta, Hackman, and DeVito. No big deal.

They don’t make them like this anymore. They should.

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