Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

GREEN'S "DID THE DOG JUST EAT MY FINGER?" REVIEW:

Harry Lockhart (Downey, Jr.) is a small time New York thief who ends up at a party in Hollywood after stumbling in on a movie audition and winning a call back. At this same party is his childhood friend Harmony (Monaghan), who is trying to make it as an actress, though he doesn’t realize who she is until later that night when they meet at a club. Harry is offered detective lessons to help with his acting in the movie by Perry (Kilmer), a gay LA Private Eye. When Harmony’s little sister is found dead in a LA hotel room, Harry, Perry and Harmony get caught up in a real life murder mystery/conspiracy that parallels the Johnny Gossamer crime novels that Harmony loved so much as a kid.

I found “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” in the $5 DVD bin at Wal-Mart a few months ago and bought it without ever having seen it because it looked interesting but primarily because of the excellent headlining cast of Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer. I’ve enjoyed their movies for almost twenty-five years, starting with Downey, Jr. for his bit part in "Weird Science" and Kilmer for the excellent but underrated "Real Genius" (both came out in 1985.) Having Michelle Monaghan in it, to me, was a bonus. She's excellent in this film - a great casting choice here. This is the third movie that she’s been in that I’ve seen, and I thought she was good in one and decent in the other.

Shane Black, whose writing credentials are unquestioned, having written the first two immensely popular Lethal Weapon films (and writing credits on the others), makes his directorial debut with this film, which he also wrote. Black handles himself well in the director’s chair, keeping the story crisp and at a good pace. I’ve often said that it helps when the writer of a story/screenplay is also it’s director, and this movie is no exception. Black has come up with a story that won’t surprise you, because you’ve seen this kind of film before. The story is engaging, the dialogue is sharp and witty and you feel invested in the characters. I find many films with narration to be incredibly annoying and distracting but here, the off-beat, incidental narration by the main character enhances the story.

If I had any problem with this film at all it would be that Val Kilmer is unconvincing as a gay man. Aside from the Gay Perry joke and the interesting place in which he keeps a small pistol, this tidbit really does nothing to add to the story. It is also a bit disappointing for me that Harry and Harmony don’t make it as a couple at the end, since they were childhood friends and there seemed to be an unspoken attraction between them throughout the picture.

Right from the opening credits this is a very enjoyable film. With a run time of 103 minutes, it's well worth your time to rent. If you can add "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" to your DVD collection for short money, like I did, even better.

**** out of *****

SCRIBE'S I WANNA BE A SUAVE GAY PRIVATE EYE REVIEW:

It happens every once in a while. Green and I are in almost total agreement!

I loved this film. The acting was top notch, of course, considering two of our greatest character actors are the stars. Michelle Monaghan was also excellent and quite the feast for the eyes.

Shane Black was always the bad boy screenwriter, having commanded the first million plus dollar deal for a writer with the original Lethal Weapon. His years of perspective have yielded a minor masterpiece.

My only disagreements come from the fact that I found Kilmer very much believable as a tough guy who is also gay and the fact that the film was better served by the fact that Downey and Monaghan don't wind up together at the end; it is the perfect statement on the transitory nature of Hollywood and the relationships that form there. Also, the lack of surprises is intentional because this is supposed to be a living Shane Black/Joel Silver type acton film.

I had trouble writing this review but Green's overview helped me out quite a bit. Sadly, this is the whole review because it would just be redundant if I went on.

**** out of *****