Rating: 
Summary: One of Leonard's recent best
Review: With Elmore Leonard we get a new book every year or so, and it's a good thing, because even though not every one is a solid success, they are all fun and every now and then a real masterpiece emerges. I believe that Get Shorty is such a success. It's a Cinderella story as if written by Damon Runyan. Chili Palmer, a small time mobster on the trail of a deadbeat who has run off with $300,000 of mob money after faking his own death, finds himself in Hollywood getting involved with movie making instead of recovering the money. On one level the book is pure Leonard an exciting underworld story with great street talk and those edgy characters that he does so well. On another level the book is a wonderful social satire and, with its shift from Vegas to L.A., shows us a contemporary world lost in greed and seduced by show biz. Palmer's easy success as a producer (in essence doing his own life story) is a thinly veiled commentary on the shallowness of Hollywood and the lack of skill of many of its leaders. Not a surprising position for a writer who has seen almost all of his books (till this one) made into truely terrible movies (remember Stick? Mr. Majestek? The Moonshine Wars?).Whatever else, this book is a fast paced and entertaining piece of fiction. The characters are interesting, the dialogue is memorable and funny, and the plot is ingenious and leads to a very satisfactory conclusion. This is Leonard at his best - and that is awfully good. And surprise, this time he even got a good movie out of it!
Rating: 
Summary: Dead Boring
Review: I agree with all the one star reviews that this book lacks everything. I've read quite a few E. Leonard books and enjoyed most of them. This was his worst so far.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad note in the bunch
Review: This musical novel doesn't have one sour note in it. This is Leonard's best with "Tishomingo Blues" following up behind and "Mr. Paradise" right behind that. The best thing about "Get Shorty" is that Leonard manages to get you to like even the bad guys--something most other writers can't manage. G.S. is a great crime novel and by far Mr. Leonard's best. Also try "Fight Club" "Bark of the Dogwood," and "Tishomingo Blues."
Rating:
Summary: One of Elmore Leonard's Finest Novels
Review: Elmore Leonard may be America's foremost writer for fast-paced spellbinding dialogue and plots. With "Get Shorty" Leonard has produced a modern crime novel classic; a spellbinding, yet hilarious, update of Chandler with some sly, thoughtful commentary on the Hollywood film business. Those unfamiliar with Leonard's prose will be in for a treat. Leonard has crafted some of the best streetwise prose I've come across since reading some of William Gibson's early novels. Leonard has superbly brought to life such interesting characters as mobster Chili Palmer and "B" movie film producer Harry Zim. Regrettably, I haven't seen the film adaptation of "Get Shorty", but judging from other Amazon.com reviews, it is undoubtedly well worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: A cracking story with sharp characters, good action, and wit
Review: This improbable story of a Miami two-bit hood who becomes a movie producer is full of sharp characters, snappy action, and witty dialog. As usual, Elmore Leonard works in the fringes of society where small-time hoods and citizens trying to scrape by rationalize the legal and moral implications of the choices they make to get what they want. This book is particularly amusing for its send-ups of Hollywood and the for the false machismo of Latin drug hustlers.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad note in the bunch
Review: This musical novel doesn't have one sour note in it. This is Leonard's best with "Tishomingo Blues" following up behind and "Mr. Paradise" right behind that. The best thing about "Get Shorty" is that Leonard manages to get you to like even the bad guys--something most other writers can't manage. G.S. is a great crime novel and by far Mr. Leonard's best. Also try "Fight Club" "Bark of the Dogwood," and "Tishomingo Blues."
Rating:
Summary: Comic Crime Fiction at Its Best
Review: Chili Palmer is a laconic tough guy who, caught up in the madcaps of the mob, becomes endearing because, unlike other mobsters, Chili has a certain humility and wisdom shining beneath his stoic persona. Because the plot is so well known through the famous film version, I will focus on the prose style. Leonard makes the prose look easy but it's not. It's really a sort of jazz riff and in an interview, if I remember correctly, Leonard says jazz fuels his writing tempo. You can see the musical quality in his playful, clean, clear prose. I've also heard that many aspiring writers try to imitate Leonard's prose style yet no one can do it. For a clinic on character study through witty syntax, Get Shorty remains one of my favorite crime novels of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Elmore Leonard spoofing Elmore Leonard?!?
Review: 'Get Shorty' is certainly a most unusual novel from Elmore Leonard. Sure there is the quirky criminal characterizations Leonard is famous for, complete with some very funny moments. But it seems that the author tried something a bit tricky by doing a Hollywood 'spin' on an Elmore Leonard novel and, well, the results are decidedly mixed. In 'Get Shorty' we have the usual south Florida loan shark nasties out to get someone who does not want to pay. This fellow lands a bundle on an insurance scam and runs to Hollywood. One of the nasties (well, I guess he is reformed nasty) chases him down and gets involved with Hollywood luvvies (actors, writers, producers). He then, ... here's the gimmick..., finds his adventures to be of more interest to film makers than another script originally being peddled to producers. Anyway, it gets all a bit complicated and just a wee bit contrived. Big disappoint to Leonard fans: the crime element to 'Get Shorty' is not the highlight of the book. Bottom line: an unusual Elmore Leonard book which will probably not please his fans. However its humour and digs at the Hollywood establishment make it a worthy read ... just.
Rating:
Summary: INCOMPLETE
Review: This book was a fast read, too fast as far as I'm concerned. The way it ends it didn't seem that anything had really been solved. Chili seems a little put off by actors and Hollywood at the end, but I wasn't completely sure what he was going to do after the last climactic studio meeting. This is a good book, but there needed to be more to it. I was expecting more of a Hollywood spoof, but this seemed primarily concerned with the conflict between Chili and Bo Catlett and their various illegal activities. I think it would have been funny to actually see Chili and Bo working on a movie, just to see how they'd react to certain situations and what kind of movie they could put out. I'll have to see the movie to see if it's any better, but the book was decent. I really liked the character of Chili Palmer, though I was lukewarm on most of the others. Given the shortness of the book and its overall lighthearted tone, I'd recommend this book for some light reading on a long trip.
Rating:
Summary: Corrupted...saw the movie first...
Review: The movie "Get Shorty" has always been one of my fave's since it came out. I finally decided to read the book. It's great, well worth reading to get more at the motives, but I was disappointed because some of my favorite scenes were "missing" (rather the movie added them.) Maybe I would have been mad at the movie if I'd read the book first. I feel like Chili Palmer myself, having watched the movie first and having liked it better. But here's my review: The characters in this story are great. Chili - the too-cool-for-anyone-but-nice-guy ex-mobster, Leo - the pathetic loser dry-cleaner, Karen - the hot, smart, cynical actress, Bo Catlett - the mean, delusional, drug-dealing Hollywood-player-wanna-be. You have no idea what is going to happen next in Leonard's books and the characters really become alive as a result. The book can help bug fans of the movie get more out of the "visual fabric" of the story. The interactions between Chili and Bo are more developed in the book than the movie, which I appreciated, as well as more insights and discussions about what the movie "Mr. Lovejoy" is actually about. The meeting between Nikki and Chili is hilarious in the book. And the book focuses on Karen's personality more. My advice is to read it and see it.
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