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 t
is a rare and triumphant occurrence when a film,
especially one categorized into the genre of
Action/Comedy, makes you say, "That is one of
the best movies I've seen this year". Or last
year, for that matter, as I mouthed a phrase
similar to that when I left an opulent theatre in
Burbank
,
California
after seeing the scarcely advertised, though
seemingly big budget flick "Kiss Kiss, Bang
Bang". Personally, I only went to see this
movie because I have a healthy affinity for Val
Kilmer – see "Spartan", "The
Doors" and "Heat" – and a good
review in the LA Weekly shed a revelatory light on
the few mysterious twenty second trailers I caught
playing at horrible ad times on TV. Luckily, my
faith in Val paid off; author Philip K. Dick would
correct me by saying I had had faith in
"VALIS". Don't mind that dorky literary
allusion.
"Kiss Kiss, Bang
Bang" is a sophisticated romp through the
seediness of LA life, the world of gay private
detectives and the consequences of finding oneself
as a witness to a high profile murder of Byzantine
intricacy and harrowing deceit. The story
encompasses all of that and more as told through
edgy, postmodern humor that extracts laughter from
even the most macabre of situations, e.g.
accidental urination on the corpse of a murder
victim.
Shane Black wrote and
directed "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", which
stars Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer. If you aren't
immediately familiar with the name, Mr. Black is
most notable for supplying screenplays for the
"Lethal Weapon" series. But don't expect
to see a remake of that series, which was plagued
by the law of diminishing returns. While
"Kiss Kiss" does sport that franchise's
share of gun clapping, killings and cars going
really fast in dangerous pursuit, it lacks the
serious drama aspects the "Lethal
Weapon" movies tried to convey at times.
Here, Black shies away from any prolonged
melodramatic sequences, providing immediate comic
relief, mostly in the form of private eye Gay
Perry (Val Kilmer) and his self proclaimed
immunity to political correctness because of his
paradoxical super masculine homosexuality.
Robert Downey Jr. plays the
role of Harry Lockhart, a blundering petty thief
who literally falls into a potential
Hollywood
leading role while being chased by cops. Once
transplanted to LA, Lockhart is introduced to
Perry, whom he has to follow around for research
on his supposed upcoming detective role.
Downey
and Kilmer are like a veteran comedic duo,
exhibiting perfect timing, conveyance of dialogue,
and have an onscreen rapport similar to old high
school friends who know too much about each other
not to be constantly snide.
On his way to eventual
disappointment at the hands of movie execs with
trifling tastes, most likely symbolizing Black's
own personal disaffection with Hollywood, Harry
meets his once upon a time dream girl from his
home town, Faith Harmony Lane (the plain but
gorgeous Michelle Monaghan). Through the character
of Faith, the lampooning of the LA lifestyle
intended by Black really comes into focus. She is
over thirty, dresses and acts like she is
nineteen, sleeps around to get ahead but her only
glimpse of success was a role as a beer wench in a
commercial. The depiction of LA is so on point,
from Harry's jaded narratives and Harmony's
unabashed naivety that I would venture to label
the film a cultural commentary in addition to
being a damn smart and entertaining movie.
While Gay and Harry are
staked out on a job one night, they witness a
murder and inadvertently expose themselves to the
criminals involved. From there the movie goes into
double time with fast cut scenes, lots of
profanities and homosexual innuendos, unexpected
turns and absurdly unrealistic events. The
unrealistic events in question, like main
characters not dying after taking multiple bullets
in vulnerable anatomical regions and dangling off
of freeway overpasses, are presented not as
synthetic heroic acts to be gasped and cried at.
Rather, Black is reveling in the ersatz nature of
such cinematic practices by poking fun at them
inventively at the conclusion.
I cannot truthfully aver to
having seen every film made and released in 2005,
but by extrapolating from those I did see I can
steadfastly wager that not many could contend with
the splendor that is "Kiss Kiss, Bang
Bang". Yea, I will admit, it isn't Oscar
worthy, though it should be. No dead controversial
figures are being portrayed and it confronts no
racial or socio-political issues, but it never
stops making you laugh and it never stops making
you watch. "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is an
artful piece of work that should not be
overlooked.
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