Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a comedy thriller starring Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan. It’s yet another one of those films that had a lot of potential but somehow managed to avoid living up to it in any way. After a very fifties style intro sequence complete with quirky jazz accompaniment, we get into the film proper.

Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) is a petty thief, who at the start of the movie is looking for a present for his son – asking the child what exactly he wants as he wanders round the back of the store with a flashlight and the alarm rigged to stay off. During the course of this expedition something goes wrong, his partner in crime gets killed, and while evading the police he suddenly finds himself auditioning for the part of someone who’s just managed to get their partner killed. This leads to him meeting “Gay Perry” (Val Kilmer) who works as a consultant, which role includes helping actors playing private investigators (the role Harry has just landed himself), and Harmony Lane (Michelle Monaghan), a struggling actress with a mission in life and a penchant for trashy crime thrillers.

The plot quickly becomes very convoluted and keeps you guessing, unfortunately I found that the humour, a vital component of this movie, fell very flat. Downey Jr. narrates in an ironic style throughout, getting in a few amusing references to various films and actors along the way and taking the odd sideswipe at formulaic thrillers, but that’s as good as it gets. (The best of these references is probably near the end where he wraps things up: ”Don't worry, I saw Lord of the Rings. I'm not going to end this 17 times. “ Okay technically he was only talking about Return of the King but we know what he meant.) Most of the sarcasm and irony just didn’t work or me, and unless you find the constant swearing amusing rather than irritating or offensive, you’re unlikely to like it much more than I did. There are a few genuinely funny bits, particularly near the end, but overall I was nearer boredom than laughter – and most in the cinema didn’t seem to find it much more hilarious. (It's probably been out forever in the States but we've not had it long over in the UK.) Probably the best line in the whole film was Perry’s: “This isn't good cop, bad cop. This is fag and New Yorker.”. Both Kilmer and Downey Jr. were good in their roles, as was Michele Monaghan, but the heavy reliance on profanity to provide the “humour” isolated me right from the start. Also, the characters were largely unsympathetic, though both Harry and Harmony have fairly legitimate reasons for what they’ve become. It stopped me actually caring what happened to them though, which is never a good thing.

I was thoroughly disappointed with this film and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. If you enjoyed films such as Something Wild, Fargo, or Excess Baggage, you may well enjoy this one, but otherwise avoid like the plague.

Other Information

Runtime: 103 min / USA:102 min (don’t ask me what the extra minute is outside the USA!)

MPAA: Rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity. (UK rating 15) Strangely Ireland, who generally give stricter ratings than the UK, rate this 15A, the same as Elizabethtown - yet more proof that all ratings systems are idiosyncratic and inconsistent!!



Related Links

Shannyn Sossamon (who had a fairly minor though important role in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang : A Knight’s Tale (as Lady Jocelyn)

Larry Miller also makes a brief appearance. He was one of the cops in Undercover Blues, one of my Top Ten Comedies of All Time


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See Also

Top Ten Films of 2005

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Recommended:
No

Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age