Book Vs Movie: Get Shorty (novel)
Written: Apr 13 '04 (Updated Apr 13 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: humorous, quick read with interesting plot twists
Cons: not standard Leonard fare from what I'm told
The Bottom Line: humorous and tight prose that flies off the page
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| fuche_bu's Full Review: Get Shorty Books |
I realize that Elmore Leonard is a very successful writer. I have always known of him without actually reading his work. This is not due to any intended slight. There are simply too many books on my “To Read” list. I have wanted to read his works for quite some time. I have had a curiosity about his writing due to Hollywood. I was familiar with movies such as Get Shorty and Out of Sight. Leonard also wrote Mr Majestyk.
This ease with which his books are translated into movies made him a perfect candidate for my Book Vs. Movie series. Get Shorty seemed as good a place as any to start. This is my first time to read an Elmore Leonard novel so I was able to read the book without preconceptions based on other books. I did read it with the memory of the movie in the backdrop. This is one where I found the movie was made very faithful to the book. I was surprised at how much the dialog is verbatim from novel to film.
I usually tend to read a lot of literary works so this is different from most of my normal reading fare. I did find it to be a highly enjoyable read. It is good to occasionally read a book for sheer entertainment value. One does not have to tackle serious literary issues 24-7. It is nice to read books like this from time to time. I had already seen Get Shorty the film so I had a good idea what to expect from the book.
It was surprising how faithful the movie was to the script. They tended to follow most of the dialog verbatim. I wasn’t able to pick out a lot of variations from one to the other. What was interesting was to be able to read the book and have everything slowed down. I was able to stop and consider what the characters were thinking as the action unfolded. This is a great advantage of books over movies in general. The action in a movie often unfolds at a very rapid pace. If you blink you may miss something important.
Get Shorty is a very quick read. I found myself ripping through the pages with great ease. It was a fun read too. I found myself reluctant to stop reading. I found the prose to be witty and tight. I thought the movie was surprisingly funny. After reading the book I get the impression that the humor was intentional. I got the impression that Leonard had a good time writing this book. Leonard is not going to get bogged down with a lot of technical talk and glossy language. I enjoy a challenging read but there is something to be said for the direct approach. I found myself really coming to like the main character Chili Palmer.
He is a thug based in Miami but he gets a gig from the wife of a dry cleaner who staged his own death. Leo the Dry Cleaner was supposed to have been on a plane that crashes. His wife cashes the insurance policy for 300 grand. Leo takes off for Vegas with the money. His wife offers to split the money with Chili if he can retrieve it. Leo is also several grand in hock to Ray Barboni. Barboni is one of the mob heavies who Chili works for in Miami.
This will eventually get Chili to Los Angeles. Meeting Harry Zimm and Karen Flores proves to be a pivotal event in the story. Here is where the negotiations begin for Chili to get involved in making movies. He figures he can use Zimm to get his foot in the door and then he can do it on his own. Zimm figures he can use Chili to get a couple local hoods off his back.
The book becomes about the effort to make a movie and all the backstabbing and game playing that goes on in Hollywood. Everyone is working an angle and trying to get a better deal. The double dealing is hilarious at times. He seems to be ripping on a lot of the pretense and phoniness of the movie industry. A bit of the surprise was diminished because I had seen the movie before reading the book. There are some plot twists along the way that would have made for a more compelling read had I not known about them in advance. As I stated earlier the movie follows the novel very faithfully.
I have read that this book is unlike many of Leonard’s other novels. I have no basis to accept or refute that claim. From seeing other films based on his novels I think that this is probably more humorous than his general writing. It seems that he was trying to write in a humorous manner. He fills the book with many offbeat bad guys but it never really seems hard boiled. There is a flow to the writing that really works well. I found the rips at Hollywood’s expense to be quite amusing. I do intend to read more of his writing in the future.
I felt that the book was slightly more appealing than the movie. This surprised me because I had seen the film first. I was visualizing the actors in the beginning of the book. This stayed with me throughout the book but the swiftness of Leonard’s prose was able to win me over. I like the ability to read character’s thoughts that comes from a well written novel. I think the film is an underrated treat. The novel may not be the most appealing to longtime Leonard fans but it was a great read for a newbie like me. Both are a lot of fun and I think will appeal to a wide range of people.
Check out the film review at:
http://www.epinions.com/content_136673660548
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
fuche_bu
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Member: George Schaefer
Location: West Bristol, PA
Reviews written: 1103
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Busy at work and missing a lot of epinions fun.
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