Get Shorty is probably the best example of a Gangster Comedy that I can think of. It has a great plot, interesting and bizarre characters, but mostly it does what it promises to do. This is a genuinely funny movie that showcases its amazing cast of John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo and others. Chili Palmer is basically the stereotype for a slick Shylock, but he knows it and uses it to the advantage of audience. This is a movie that knows it's a movie, but still lets you have a very sustainable story about the entertainment business. There's some really odd moments, but they're purposefully done. Barry Sonnenfeld's idea here was to play around with Elmore Leonard's book and apply it to his unique sense of style. Now a lot of people call this a Tarantino knock-off, but chances are they have no idea what they're talking about. This is based off a work by the same writer as Jackie Brown, so that should be the only justifiable sense of deja vu. Get Shorty mostly finds its comedy in the fact that some of these characters try so hard to be intimidating or scary, but just come off as idiots. A lot of this is accomplished through the acting; John Travolta's great performance is seen through his ability to hit every joke and every character moment just right. Gene Hackman with his fake teeth and nutty getup makes him incredibly goofy, but in the best way possible. Now I think it takes some time to really understand what's going on in Get Shorty, especially due to its genre-bending quality. Given the chance, it's really fun and one of those movies that I can go back to over and over again and still find a lot to love.