Paul Adelstein

Chili Palmer (John Travolta) helps Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), the widow of an executed friend, Tommy Athens (James Woods), to resurrect a record company using the talents of young and talented female vocalist and songwriter, Linda Moon (Christina Milian). The plot is complicated by several facts: In a loan-shark subplot from Get Shorty of "who owns who", Chili makes deals and owns all the players as a "producer". The Russian Mafia (headed by Roman Bulkin (Alex Kubik)) are trying to kill Chili because he witnessed the execution of Athens. Athens' record company owes money to a gangster/producer, Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer). Chili Palmer is an accomplished filmmaker and hates sequels. His friend Tommy Athens is the owner of a record company. Tommy is meeting Chili for a lunch meeting at a cafe. Tommy is in the music business and pitches Chili to produce a film on his life in the music industry. Tommy had picked Linda Moon to play the out-of-town talent who wanted to make it big in the music industry and Tommy is the executive who makes it happen. The movie would be a musical. He tells Chili that Linda Moon hangs out at the Viper club and is expecting to meet Chili there. When Chili goes to the restroom, a Russian assassin drive up to the cafe (where they were having their meeting) and shoots Tommy. Chili comes out of the restroom and has a good look at the assassin who wears a toupee. Marla (Debi Mazar) is the detective assigned to investigate the case. She believes that Chili set up Tommy for the hit. Moon convinces Chili to take on her cause, getting out of contractual obligations to Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) and Raji (Vince Vaughn). Linda says that Nick and Raji got her when she got off the bus from Texas and promised to make her a huge star. She believed them and signed a bad contract with them, which basically pays nothing. She has 5 more years left on the contract and wants out. Nick has a gay Samoan bodyguard named Elliott (The Rock), an aspiring actor and the butt of Carr and Raji's homophobic jokes. When Chili walks out of the club with Linda, Raji sends Elliot to kill Chili. However, Chili befriends Elliot and tells him that he can help him out with his acting career. Chili uses the opportunity to help his friend's widow, Edie Athens, manage the failing business, which owes $300,000 to the hip hop producer Sin LaSalle. Chili decides to enter the music industry on the talents of a female entertainer, Linda Moon. Chili was looking to get out of the music business and sees Linda as the perfect opportunity. Chili convinces Edie to produce Moon, hoping to resurrect Athens' failing record company through a live performance with Aerosmith and Steven Tyler. Moon being launched at the concert would also bring down the marketing costs on her debut album. Tommy's assistant Tiffany (Kimberly J. Brown) tells Chili that the Russian assassin with the toupee came by Tommy's office at least twice in the last few days, looking for Tommy. Carr and Raji take exception to Chili's intervention, and hire a hit-man, Joe "Loop" Lupino (Robert Pastorelli) to kill Chili. LaSalle threatens Chili and Edie for payment of the $300,000, but they convince him to give them a few days to get the money plus the Vig. LaSalle is the manager for the band Dub MDs, which was produced by Tommy's company. When the Russians attempt to kill Chili, Joe Loop mistakenly kills Ivan Argianiyev (George Fisher), the Russian Mob hit-man. Raji then kills Loop with a bat after Loop "disrespects" him by asking for another $5000 for another hit on Chili, and also calls Raji as Nick's "B***h". Raji is adamant that he will not give up Linda without a fight. After Chili talks Linda into leaving Carr and his girl group, Chili confronts Carr at his house to hand over Linda's contract. Chili says that Carr had her for 2 years and did nothing for her, and Chili already got her a label within 3 days of meeting her. Chili finds out that Roman was the assassin who killed Tommy. He also knows that Roman is being watch by Feds round the clock. Chili confronts Roman inside his shop and tells him to stay away from Edie. Chili says that he also knows that Roman sent Ivan to kill him. Chili then takes Edie to a basketball game with seats next to Steven Tyler. Back in the day, Edie was a groupie with Aerosmith and is afraid that Steven won't remember her. Steven fondly remembers that Edie used to put Lavender water in their clothes. Steven hears Linda's voice recording and agrees to launch her at his concert. Meanwhile, Elliot has been waiting for Chili to call him about the audition. He confronts Chili at home with the same baseball bat that Raji used to kill Loop. Chili calms Elliot down and asks him to make some changes to his monologue routine and prepare for auditions. Elliot is satisfied that Chili will deliver on his promise and leaves the bat at his place. Carr realizes that the Russians are after Chili, when he finds from Elliot that Chili was seen outside the pawnshop owned by the Russian mob boss Roman Bulkin. Carr makes a deal with Roman to kill Chili. Carr tries to trick Chili by handing him a pawn ticket, claiming that Linda's contract was at the pawn shop owned by the Russians. This is actually a set-up by Carr to get Chili killed. When Chili picks the ticket, he tells Nick that Raji killed Loop. Nick insults Raji. Raji call LaSalle and says that Chili is buying Linda's contract from Nick for $300,000. Knowing about this trick, Chili hands the ticket to Edie, who turns it over to the police. Now the cops, instead of Chili, pay the Russians a visit. Believing that Carr tricked him, Bulkin and his men pay a visit to Carr's office while Sin LaSalle and the Dub MDs are there. Insulted by Bulkin's racist remarks, LaSalle kills him. When Carr threatens Chili, Chili sends him to the hands of the police with a pawn ticket. Finally, when Raji and Elliot threaten Chili, Chili again befriends Elliot, who turns on Raji after learning that Chili gotten him an audition for a film and Raji erased the evidence of it on his answering machine. For all his smooth talking and flamboyant wardrobe, Raji finds himself in a firework conflagration which roasts him live on camera. Carr is arrested on murder charges when they find him with the bat used to kill Joe Loop. During all of this confusion, Chili squeezes in a dance with Edie (a nod to his "Twist Contest" scene, also with Thurman, in Pulp Fiction) and Moon gets her debut with Aerosmith. Finally, LaSalle becomes the producer for Moon's debut album video. At the MTV Video Music Awards, Linda wins the awards for best new artist and video of the year. During her acceptance speech, she thanks Edie, Sin and Chili. Edie and Chili leave the award ceremony. As Chili drives off, he passes a billboard revealing that Elliot is the co-star of a new movie with Kidman.

Intolerable Cruelty is an all-out battle of the sexes between a fabulously successful divorce attorney and a marriage-for-money gold digger who is seeking revenge.