Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a handful of reviews for Shane "Lethal Weapon/Long Kiss Goodnight/Monster Squad" Black's KISS KISS BANG BANG. I'm sure we'll be getting the good word from our main man in Toronto, Anton Sirius, very soon, but these three reviews just add on to the pile of stellar word on this flick. Sounds fun as all hell! I can't wait to see it!
Hi Harry,
Rolotomasi here, and I'm feeling jinxed. Last movies I reviewed for you at the Toronto Filmfest were THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE and NINE QUEENS. I submitted that to you on September 10, 2001. Since then I've been a little bit wary of getting back into the reviewing game, but I decided, four years later, I'm gonna dive right back in, no worries, and hope nothing bad happens tomorrow,so here goes.
What a pleasure it is to have Shane Black back! KISS KISS BANG BANG joyfully resurrects the L.A. film noir in grand, 21st Century post-modern style. Black knows his story is the stuff of cheap paperback fiction. Unlike most of Hollywood's movies which seem to self-destruct every five minutes, KISS KISS BANG BANG self-deconstructs every five minutes (Hey, I haven't written one of these in 4 years, cut me some friggin' Slack!). Robert Downey Jr. gives great narration, like an ironic Sam Spade, who often stops the action to digress into flashback, structural reference, fantasy, and even commercial breaks.
The first 30 minutes of the movie is almost entirely about establishing the main characters. The 3 leads are all great vessels for Black's whip-sharp dialogue. The plot doesn't kick in for a while. Something about dead bodies. I'll let you guys figure it out, while I talk about the elements.
Downey as Harry, the outsider from New York, mildly amused, mostly abused by L.A. Downey's great at these smart, intense comedies, and he knows that he doesn't need to overplay a scene to put it over the top. What Harry goes through would cause most people to totally lose it, but Downey smartly underplays the insanity.
Val Kilmer, the hard-bitten realist, Gay Perry. Perry the P.I. sees Hollywood for what it is and manages to remain knowingly above it all. Kilmer and Downey work at the same, understated, "this is happening so how do we deal with it" level. They have a great buddy cameraderie, which they indulged in before the screening with a little routine for the audience.
Michelle Monaghan plays superbly off of Kilmer and Downey. I won't go on about her, but I will say that she's lovely to look at, pulls off Black's dialogue naturally, and adds dimension and heart to the small town ingenue looking to make it big in L.A.
And L.A. is the fourth major character in this story. Black is a guy who has made a career of lovingly mocking L.A. and Los Angeleans (Angelenos?), witness DIE HARD, LAST BOY SCOUT, LAST ACTION HERO, FORD FAIRLANE, all movies that took potshots at the left coast. Black shoots L.A. almost entirely at night, capturing insanely excessive parties (There's a X-Mas party that Black couldn't have possibly imagined), a predatory bar scene where conversations stop on a dime, and every man is an (insert ethnic group) version of (insert movie star), and wisecracking thugs, trying to be the screenwriters for their own little movie.
The action's great, the atmosphere and camerawork are all solid (Joel Silver's first film without any helicopters, so he's obviously on a budget), John Ottman's score is strong, and the Saul Bass-esque title sequence starts the movie off with just the right Noir touch. The movie's fast, it's fun, it plays across all ages (The middle-aged women all around me were howling with laughter, along with everyone else). Hopefully Warner will give this the release it deserves.
I'm off to sleep. Tomorrow it's TIDELAND, THE PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES, and BANLIEUE 13, if I can keep my eyes open. I need a caffeine I.V.!
Shane came back! We should all be thankful! Again, call me RoloTomasi (And Talkbackers can call me Planty McPlant or something if it makes them feel like big boys)
Cheers!
Thanks, man. I wish I was up there watching TIDELAND with ya'! Let us know what you think of it! Now for the next one!
To all the fine folks at AICN,
Please find attached my review of Shane Black's KISS KISS BANG BANG. If you'd like to run it, please credit me as Tommy Five-Tone. Oh, and Mori? In case I didn't mention it earlier, congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your son.
*****
No mincing words on this one - I fucking loved KISS KISS BANG BANG. This quick-witted detective thriller is definitely in my top three for 2005 so far, with Robert Downey Jr excellent (if miscast - I'll explain why later) and Val Kilmer ruling your ass and mine.
The real hero here, of course, is Shane Black, making his directorial debut. The LETHAL WEAPON and LAST BOY SCOUT writer's got a smooth directorial style but his writing is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. This may a little too offbeat and unabashedly R-rated to set the box office on fire (but it only cost $15 million, so it'll probably do okay), but it will absolutely kill on DVD. This is the kind of movie that's just going improve with age.
Starting with a nifty flashback scene that deftly introduces two of the main characters, the story kicks in with Downey Jr's Harry Lockhart at a swanky Hollywood party. Via voiceover - delivered by Downey Jr and written by Black that plays like a match made in smart-mouthed snark heaven - Harry explains how he ended up in L.A. A petty thief in NYC, he was robbing a toy store to get a Christmas present for his niece when the job went south, his partner got shot by an irate bystander and the only way to dodge the cops was to crash a casting call for a detective movie. Bleeding from a gunshot wound and reeling over his friend's death, Harry gave an impromptu performance that stunned the producers and got him shipped out to the West Coast.
Once Harry's in Los Angeles, the producers hook him up with Kilmer's Perry Van Shrike (a.k.a. Gay Perry...yes, as in Gay Paree), a private eye who moonlights as a consultant on crime movies. The wicked smart, mighty tough and openly homosexual Perry reluctantly takes Harry under his wing for a couple of days of P.I. training. Naturally enough, the timing of Harry and Perry's team-up just happens to coincide with the start of a case involving kidnapping, suicide, murder and millions of dollars worth of financial malfeasance.
Harry's other Hollywood connection is Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan, who plays like the slinkier, sassier, sexier little sister of GREY'S ANATOMY star Ellen Pompeo), a jaded would-be actress all too aware of the upcoming expiry of her use-by date. Harry and Harmony grew up together in the same small town - she was a cheerleader who fucked pretty much everything in pants, he was the nice guy who offered her a shoulder to cry on while secretly carrying a torch for her. When they meet again, Harmony - believing Harry is a real P.I. - asks for Harry's help in tracking down her little sister, who has come to L.A. in search of the man she believes is her real father. (He's not, and it's a key part of the plot.)
There's a lot to take in, and there are times when you think Black has basically thrown any semblance of a plot overboard to simply enjoy presenting the rapid-fire banter between his lead characters. But the writer-director's a little more clued-in than that, and everything eventually resolves itself in a logical and satisfying way. But it's a pretty dense storyline and it does occasionally feel like Black has bitten off more than he chew. Have faith, though.
Black's plotting is sturdy but it's his characterisation and particularly his dialogue that sets him apart. I still get a thrill out of Mel Gibson's little LETHAL WEAPON monologue about his time as a sniper in Vietnam ("There's eight, maybe 10 guys in the world who could have made that shot...") and still get a laugh out of Samuel L. Jackson's explanation for showing up late to one of THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT's gunfights ("I'd have been here sooner but I was thinking up that ham-on-rye line"). It's Harry and Perry who get the lion's share of the great lines in KISS KISS BANG BANG, with Downey, Jr's narration delivering gem after gem and Kilmer's bone-dry witticisms rarely failing to please.
As well, Black shows good instincts as a director, playfully messing around with flashbacks and chronology, staging his action sequences cleanly and coherently and displaying killer timing in some of his gags. (A cameo appearance from some very unexpected icons in a hospital room near the end of the film is fucking hilarious.) By the way, KISS KISS BANG BANG's opening credit sequence - with its obvious nod to the master of credits, Saul Bass - is a nice touch.
If I have any issue with the movie, it's that the humour edges towards the misogynistic and homophobic. (In a Joel Silver production written and directed by Shane Black? Why, I'm shocked.) Some of Harry's dialogue - one monologue in particular - about the psychology of West Coast women suggests that Shane has had some unpleasant experiences on the Hollywood dating circuit. (That said, if even a quarter of what I've heard about love and lust in L.A. is true, Black is probably quite astute in his judgement.) And the constant needling about Perry's homosexuality borders on overkill, even if most of it is very funny in a politically incorrect kinda way.
Of course, the movie attempts to counter this by making it clear that Harmony and Perry are tougher, smarter and braver than Harry, who's something of a novice, something of a screw-up and somewhat unsuited to action-hero antics (as a funny scene immediately following some tough-guy talk from Harry proves). And this is kind of why the casting of Downey, Jr is problematic.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great role for a great actor - it really suits his sense of humour and there are some very strong dramatic moments that Downey, Jr plays perfectly. (The first time Harry shoots someone is a clear standout for me.) But for the movie's conceit that the gay guy and the chick are more adept at the heroics than the leading man, it perhaps needed a more traditionally macho star. It's the whole BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA thing - you expect Kurt Russell to be the hero, only to realise he's Dennis Dun's sidekick. By the same token, KISS KISS BANG BANG's subversion of action movie stereotypes might have worked a little better if Harry had seemed a bit more like Bruce Willis's Joe Hallenbeck from THE LAST BOY SCOUT: somewhat smart and self-aware but mostly a gung-ho man's man type of hero.
It also doesn't help that Downey, Jr - who's played gay roles convincingly and intelligently in the past - doesn't seem quite right when it comes to conveying Harry's low-level homophobia. So while I wouldn't trade the terrific chemistry between Downey, Jr and Kilmer, I couldn't help but recast Harry in my head. It was tough, but I think Ben Affleck would actually do a great job of portraying a guy who's smart enough to come up with the sardonic quips in Harry's narration but not enlightened enough to be 100 per cent comfortable around a gay guy. (If REINDEER GAMES and GIGLI did nothing else, they convinced me that Affleck could balance bright and dim quite successfully...it's no mean feat.)
Casting Affleck would also clear up the issue of the age-difference between Downey, Jr and Monaghan. Harry and Harmony are meant to be the same age but it's obvious that he's a little older than her, despite Downey, Jr's boyish looks. It's not a deal-breaker but it's a minor irritant.
Extra mention must be made of Kilmer, who puts just the right amount of spin on his lines, making even the most throwaway comment a treat. And because I'm hardly the most enlightened chap myself, extra mention must be made of Monaghan drunkenly stripping out of a Santa's Little Helper outfit - it's pretty damn sexy, let me tell you. (But then drunken women removing their clothing has always been my Achilles heel.)
Despite a couple of flaws, KISS KISS BANG BANG is incredibly enjoyable from start to finish. It reinforces what tremendous talents Downey, Jr and Kilmer are (neither of these guys needs a 'comeback' role in my eyes but anything that boosts their profile is okay by me), it introduces a talented - and let me reiterate just one more time, hot - ingénue in Monaghan (who's since landed a role in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3) and, best of all, it gets Shane Black back in the game. It's been far too long since this guy's distinctive voice was heard by audiences, and hopefully he'll be able to maintain the momentum created by KISS KISS BANG BANG.
Swinging on a star,
Tommy Five-Tone
*****
Thanks, man. Now for one last review. Short and to the point, but gives a little look at the talent that dazzled the audience before the film!
Harry,
I just got back from the North American premiere screening of KISS KISS BANG BANG. Prior to the show Joel Silver introduced the more conservatively dressed Shane Black, Michelle Monaghan, Robert Downey Jr., and Val Kilmer. Each person had a few kind words to say about the film and each other with Downey and Kilmer doing a brief comedy bit. The stars didn't hang around long enough to watch the film with us but Black was there throughout the screening.
KISS KISS BANG BANG does indeed deliver the goods. Black is in fine form here; his script a pure comedy-thriller gold. The dialogue is razor sharp and chock full of great, great one-liners (sorry, Harry, I don't wanna spoil any of it). Downey Jr. and Kilmer just nailed the banter and comic timing. And, of course, there's Monaghan with a fantastic performance. Audience reaction was very, very positive.
I have a few films to see over the weekend before REVOLVER has it's world premiere here at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival.
