Worth the wait or gone stale?
Some movies caught in scheduling conflicts
By Todd Leopold
CNN
(CNN) -- Each year the Hollywood studios send out a calendar of releases.
Some movies' release dates -- the ones for blockbusters -- are practically set in stone. Into this group you can place the "Star Wars" films, the Harry Potter films, "Spider-Man 2," and other "tentpoles" meant to carry a studio's fortunes.
Others move around the weekends in a constant game of chicken with other studios. Sometimes the change is minor -- "Shrek 2" was originally announced for June 18, 2004, saw an opening and moved up a month to May -- and others, well, they may bounce around for awhile.
Maybe they're undergoing reshooting. Maybe they'd be better off in spring rather than winter. And maybe they're being dumped.
The New York Times recently ran an article about "Prozac Nation," a movie based on Elizabeth Wurtzel's bestseller. The film, starring Christina Ricci, was shot in 2000. At some point it was slated for a late 2002/early 2003 release. Then it was pushed to late 2003. Then it was sometime in 2004, and direct-to-video at that. Now it's supposed to air on Starz later in March.
"Be Cool," which comes out Friday, was originally on its studio's slate for last summer. Indeed, the sequel to "Get Shorty" was promoted all over the MGM/UA publicity calendar, complete with trivia questions and teaser copy.
But 2004 came and went, and we're more than two months into 2005, and it's only now seeing the light of day.
What does that mean? Hard to say. But early reviews haven't been good.
Eye on Entertainment looks deep.
Eye-opener
The movie's roots go back to "Get Shorty," a 1995 hit directed by Barry Sonnenfeld -- then hot from the "Addams Family" movies --that starred John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Rene Russo.
The film was based on a book by Elmore Leonard and managed to capture Leonard's offbeat combination of crime, comedy and absurdity, which generally hadn't been the case with films based on Leonard's works. (The snappy script was by Scott Frank, who pulled off the trick again with Leonard's "Out of Sight.") Travolta had just re-energized his career with "Pulp Fiction" and cemented his star status with the success of "Get Shorty."
"Get Shorty" was about a mobster, Chili Palmer, who travels to Hollywood and finds that the atmosphere isn't that different from his usual milieu. "Be Cool," based on a sequel Leonard wrote, puts Palmer into the music business.
This time around Travolta is co-starring with DeVito, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, OutKast's Andre Benjamin and singer-actress Christina Milian. The film is directed by F. Gary Gray, who did "The Italian Job," and the script is not by Scott Frank, but rather Peter Steinfeld ("Analyze That").
Entertainment Weekly called it "tepid," a movie that tries too hard. The Associated Press was less kind, calling it "meandering" (and "tepid," too).
Other critics may differ, of course, but it's hard to catch lightning twice. Even if you try to find just the right weekend to open your movie ... whatever the reason.
"Be Cool" opens Friday.
On screen
Vin Diesel tries the Arnold Schwarzenegger "Kindergarten Cop" path with "The Pacifier," about a Navy SEAL who becomes a type of nanny/security guard to a house full of kids. This is the kind of movie that begs for the phrase "hilarity ensues." Opens Friday."The Jacket" is a time-travel tale starring Adrien Brody as an Iraq war veteran who goes into the future and sees his death ... or does he? And does he kill some people ... or is he being framed? Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kelly Lynch co-star. Opens Friday.On the tube
"The Contender," the NBC reality series/boxing contest, premieres Monday at 9:30 p.m. with a preview show. Dan Rather offers his last bit of Texas cornpone metaphor from the anchor desk on Wednesday evening. And for those who don't think this is "entertainment," you haven't followed some of the paths of Dan Rather's career. The man helped inspire an R.E.M. song, for Pete's sake. CBS; check local listings for time. Sound waves
Secret Garden's new album, "Earthsongs" (Decca), comes out Tuesday.Paging readers
The latest chapter in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, "Cold Service" (Putnam), comes out Tuesday.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
