Friday
Oct 28, 2005
SGN.org
Volume 33
Issue 43
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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang has audience wanting more, more! |
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| Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang has audience wanting more, more! | ||
| By Lorelei Quenzer
- SGN A&E Writer
In limited release, opens today at Loews Cineplex Meridian I'm ready to see Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang again. No, really: this clever, irreverent and paranoid take on the wisecracking buddy movie is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. I left the theater thoroughly satisfied and anxious to take another ride on the rollercoaster. Robert Downey, Jr. is Harry Lockhart, a petty New York crook who literally stumbles into an audition as he's running from a bungled job at a toy store. His convincing performance - and happy escape from the law - earns him a trip to Hollywood for a screen test, where he meets the man who is going to tutor him in detective skills, Perry Van Shrike (Val Kilmer). This tough-as-nails detective also happens to be Gay; hence his nickname through the film, "Gay Perry." It's too cute to pass up, isn't it? (There are a lot of "wink-nudge/groan" moments, but most of the time I was having too much fun to really hate them.) Perry reluctantly takes Harry under his wing. Meanwhile, Harry runs into an old flame, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), an aspiring actress (with that name, could she be anything else?) who would have been the love of Harry's life if she'd ever seen him as more than just a friend. When Harmony's sister goes missing she needs help, and Harry pretends to be a real detective so she won't drop him like a hot potato. (Sorry, that was the genre talking, not me.) That's when the bodies start piling up and Perry has to save Harry's already crispy ass from the fire. Kilmer and Downey are electric- do you think the insurance underwriters peed in their pants when they heard about this casting? - sparring with fast and pointed banter. It's as if they've been working together for years. Monaghan is sultry and smart, too; you're never sure if she's a victim of Tinseltown or if she's ruthlessly capitalizing on Harry's naiveté to get away with & uh, murder Harry narrates the film, in the best noir tradition, but unlike Philip Marlowe it seems that his narration job is as bungled as his crime capers. Harry immediately finds he has to back up and correct mistakes, or point out the horrible the clichés and plot twists that may have gone over our heads. The action is nonstop, and there's an Ellery Queen-like twist at the end, where Harry asks if the audience has it figured out yet. Did you catch the all-important clue? Were you paying attention? Personally, I love it when a film skewers film pretensions like "respecting the fourth wall." Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is the directorial debut of screenwriter Shane Black. He penned the Lethal Weapon flicks, as well as The Long Kiss Goodnight and The Last Boy Scout. I can only hope he gets to direct whatever the heck he comes up with next, because this is my favorite movie of the year, so far. Keep 'em coming, Mr. Black. |
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