johnlink ranks KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)
I first saw this around the time of its release, maybe a year later, so it has been five years since I visited this movie. I loved the humor, and this was the era when Robert Downey Jr. was really starting his career revitalization project. I’d been meaning to get back at it for awhile, so here we go…
I watched KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005) on 9.24.11. It was my second viewing of the film. TRAILER HERE
This is written and directed by Shane Black, best known as the guy who created and wrote the LETHAL WEAPON series. His writing here is top quality, though there are a few one-liners that another director (who had not written the script) probably would have left out.
And that concludes the complaints I have about this movie.
This is just witty, non-stop, beginning-to-end fun. Val Kilmer as Gay Perry keeps this thing afloat around the brilliant zaniness of Downey. Also, female lead Michelle Monaghan (who I just realized is NOT the same person as Bridget Moynagan from I, ROBOT) is really great in this. Downey needs a foil who can keep up with him, and he has two in Kilmer and Monaghan.
I remembered a few things about this film, namely the water scene and the door scene. But I forgot just how many wonderful scenes permeate this thing. The scene outside the hospital is hilarious, even if you see it coming. The spider bit is innocent hilarity. The interjections by Downey’s narrator make this modern-noir self aware in a way that isn’t just cute (except, perhaps, in the final scene in the hospital).
I love that this film allows so much seemingly unlikely craziness to unfold, and treats it like its normal and everyday. That really does capture the absurdity of Los Angeles, a city which KISS KISS BANG BANG has a real love/hate relationship with.
This is the sort of original dark comedy which comes along too infrequently. I feel like these films were being banged out bi-monthly in the 90s, and truly good ones are much more a rarity in the the new century. Perhaps I am being too cynical, or perhaps my youthful film eyes thought more was cool than these old, seasoned eyes. Either way, I could watch KISS KISS BANG BANG all day long.
SCORES
FILM: 6; MOVIE: 9; ACTING: 8; WRITING: 8
6+9+8+8+0=31
FINAL SCORE: 7.75
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