Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Only one woman and a gun? Please.
| 17 Mar 2006
One woman and a gun were once deemed the only two elements required to make a film entertaining. However, since the film-going public's expectations have been increasingly raised in the past decade, movies today must punch a little harder. Or lower, depending on where our belts lie. Enter 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang', a film-noir-black-comedy-thriller-romance-buddy-detective story with some shtick thrown in for fun. I mean; only one woman and a gun? Please.
KKBB is narrated by the unpredictable yet wonderful Robert Downey Jr. He plays Harry Lockhart, a bumbling petty thief who mistakenly crashes a Hollywood audition and sure enough, lands the role. Seeing as a flight to LA would definitely save his assets, he agrees to take on the role of a private detective. In LA, he is partnered with an actual private detective (Val Kilmer) to learn the ropes of police work and brush up on his acting skills. Kilmer is brilliantly funny as Gay Perry (get it?), a tough-dealing, hard-hitting cop who also happens to be, you guessed it, gay. Much buddy banter and situational comedy ensue.
Lockhart runs into his dream girl from high school, Harmony - played by Michelle Monaghan. Once the girl who slept with everyone but Lockhart, she is now a starving actress quickly realizing LA ain't what it should be. Lockhart is of course bowled over to see her and rashly lies about his new career as a "police detective". When Harmony's sister is found dead, and there is no one else to turn to, wouldn't you-know-who is around to play hero. But Harmony's sister is not the only body in town, and soon the bullets begin to fly as fast as the grammar lessons.
The film is directed and written by Shane Black, brainchild of the 'Lethal Weapon' series, and given its success (ok, the 4th one sucked), it is no surprise that Kilmer and Downey play so well off each other. In fact, the most memorable scenes involve the quick dialogue exchange between the two. Seriously, any film that can pull off the line "the dog ate my fingerprints" must be worth at least the rental fee. After enjoying great theatrical success, the release of the DVD should bring a new and wider audience to KKBB. After all, there are at least two women and three guns...
KKBB is narrated by the unpredictable yet wonderful Robert Downey Jr. He plays Harry Lockhart, a bumbling petty thief who mistakenly crashes a Hollywood audition and sure enough, lands the role. Seeing as a flight to LA would definitely save his assets, he agrees to take on the role of a private detective. In LA, he is partnered with an actual private detective (Val Kilmer) to learn the ropes of police work and brush up on his acting skills. Kilmer is brilliantly funny as Gay Perry (get it?), a tough-dealing, hard-hitting cop who also happens to be, you guessed it, gay. Much buddy banter and situational comedy ensue.
Lockhart runs into his dream girl from high school, Harmony - played by Michelle Monaghan. Once the girl who slept with everyone but Lockhart, she is now a starving actress quickly realizing LA ain't what it should be. Lockhart is of course bowled over to see her and rashly lies about his new career as a "police detective". When Harmony's sister is found dead, and there is no one else to turn to, wouldn't you-know-who is around to play hero. But Harmony's sister is not the only body in town, and soon the bullets begin to fly as fast as the grammar lessons.
The film is directed and written by Shane Black, brainchild of the 'Lethal Weapon' series, and given its success (ok, the 4th one sucked), it is no surprise that Kilmer and Downey play so well off each other. In fact, the most memorable scenes involve the quick dialogue exchange between the two. Seriously, any film that can pull off the line "the dog ate my fingerprints" must be worth at least the rental fee. After enjoying great theatrical success, the release of the DVD should bring a new and wider audience to KKBB. After all, there are at least two women and three guns...
Released March 13.