Reviews

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang - New to DVD

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A thief, a blonde, and a gay man walk into party. You haven’t heard it? Good cause it’s the set up for the thriller/mystery/comedy Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. If you’re wondering what the punch line is expect it to be complex with multiple outlets. Much like Ice Harvest, KKBB finds humor in death and violence. Lots of it. That is lots of humor and lots of bodies piling up.

But before I get ahead of myself I should give you the scoop. Harry, played by Downey Jr., is a crook who accidentally lands in a movie audition while running from the police. The casting director mistakes Harry’s real reactions to what just happened as method acting and sends Harry off to LA for screen testing and whatnot. While in LA Harry is sent out with Perry (AKA Gay Perry) played by Kilmer. Perry is a detective and on the side takes actors out on jobs so they can learn how a detective works for their roles. What’s expected to be a simple snoop job turns out to be the beginning of some fantastic pulp.

Before things get complicated Harry becomes infatuated with Harmony, played by Monaghan, when he sees her passed out at a party. Harmony, not impressed by Downey Jr. (perhaps it was his work on Ally McBee) wants nothing to do with him until he lies, saying he’s a detective, in her moment of need. Without giving too much of the movie away, that’s the setup. Downey is really a thief pretending to be an actor who is pretending to be a detective so he can get closer to his dream girl. Confusing? It won’t be when it’s all over.

Now pay attention because a lot is going to happen and there’ll be a lot of laughing involved. KKBB goes from one twist to the next clue leading to the next link, or victim, sometimes both. It may not be a realistic detective story but damn it KKBB sure is a lot of fun. What really makes KKBB shine is the banter between Harry and Gay Perry. Writers Halliday and Black had to of taken classes in zingology. Downey Jr. purrs through the whole thing with the wry way he delivers his lines. Kilmer lays the insults on thick but does it in such a deadpan way he comes off as the straight man… so to speak. While I’m on the subject of Gay Perry I want to point out KKBB does a great job of having a gay character without depending on stereotypical Will and Grace laughs.

After watching the movie someone commented on this being a buddy movie. It hadn’t crossed my mind until then. At it’s core KKBB is a buddy movie but I never noticed as I was too busy following the leads and trying to stop laughing so I could hear what characters were saying. The more confidant Downey becomes, and the more he tries to help, the more twisted their problems get. Let’s not forget Perry, the real detective, never wanted any help in the first place. In fact several people try to get Harry to leave Los Angeles and drop the whole thing. But Harry keeps coming back to solve the case and get the girl.

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang loses a point for its predictable and clichéd ending. Seriously, the ending felt thrown together as well as lacking the pacing/feel of the rest of the movie. It doesn’t diminish the overall movie but I just expected something grittier as opposed to a typical action smash em’ up ending. Don’t let this glitch stop you from watching all the kissing and banging. The story is thrilling but the last loop looks bigger until the viewer gets up on it.

Go rent it at Wild and Woolly. If you’ve already seen Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang or you want to have a double feature check out Ice Harvest.
8.5/10
Andy

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