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Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang (2005) |
Summary |
Bodies pile up and a mystery unfolds as a hapless New York thief is swept into the L.A. scene and paired with a suave detective. |
Direction |
Shane Black |
Downey Factor |
Very high. He plays the lead and the narrator. |
Character |
Harry Lockhart, a hapless disaster-prone thief trying to get his big break as an actor |
Looks |
Disheveled, cute, fit. |
Performance |
Highly amusing. |
Love & Sex |
Courts Michelle Monaghan, shares a comic makeout session with Val Kilmer |
Dies, Gay or Villain |
No, no, no. |
Other Actors |
Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen |
Connection |
Michele Monaghan in Due Date. |
RDJ Says |
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is one of my favorites, if not my favorite movie that I have ever done ... [This is] the first movie I've done in like 70 tries that works from beginning to end and is innovative and fun to do ... I tend to play people who are too smart for their own good. [But] Harry is stupid about everything. It doesn't matter his heart's in the right place because everything he does to help, if he had thought it through, he would realize he couldn't have done it worse. But in the end he's okay. He's even got a real job that he can show up for, and the romance thing, well, they've got as good a shot as any ... When we were shooting night after night in L.A. a film about L.A. that is funny, dark and smart, and I'm thinking, 'What could be a bigger kiss of death?' But people seem to be responding to it ... [Susan Levin] was reading this script and laughing her head off, and I said, 'What's so funny?' and she said, 'This script by Shane Black.' When she tries to explain what's funny, it's so strange I just don't get it. But it's Shane Black, so now I'm interested ... Shane's voice is different than any other. It's not like the things we've been fed [in movies] all these years. Shane has had a lot of time and success and disappointments, and it shows in the script ... It's similar in tone to films like Chinatown. There's really that sense of drama with just a touch of lightness along the way. We're having a really good time ... Harry Lockhart explains the influx to Hollywood of people who want to be [famous] overnight, who don't want to live the life, they just want the Christmas present ... I would like to say Shane and I were casualties of the 'military industrial complex' of Hollywood. But I tell people, sometimes you have to survive these things and then it makes sense later. Which is sort of what happens in the movie. It all makes sense later ... I have a sense of destiny that you are led to do the things you are supposed to do. And it turns out this film was one of them. |
Hot Link |
Official Site |
Release |
21 October 2005 |
Availability |
On DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4; also on Blu-Ray. |
Foreign Titles |
Argentina: Entre besos y tiros (Between Kisses and Shots) Brazil: Beijos e Tiros (Kisses and Shots) Canada (French) : Baisers fumants (Smoking Kisses) Greece: Filia kai sfaires |
Rotten Tomatoes |
83% Fresh | 120 Reviews |
Critical View |
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Robert Downey Jr., at his playfully snarky best, narrates the film ... Downey and Kilmer keep you hanging on and laughing uproariously. You might think two masters of the quirky would be too much for a single movie. But they light up this one. Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: [Downey and Monaghan's] comic rhythms are in perfect synch. At times, it seems as if they're improvising, inspiring and topping each other. |
2 Reasons to See It |
1. The play between Kilmer and Downey is electric. 2. If you're a longtime Downey fan, you've been waiting for a movie like this. |
Overall |
A convoluted plot takes a backseat to the fun, clever, self-aware comedy that's so amusing you won't even care that you can't explain what the movie is about. A must-see. |
If You Like It |
You might also like Sherlock Holmes (2009), Wonder Boys (2000) |
Photos |
Video |