Bold and breathless, this trippy, hilarious, know-it-all comedy-thriller will have you reliving its ironic spoils for days, but you’ll still be hard-pressed to nail the actual story.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:118
Rotten:24
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Tongue-in-cheek satire blends well with entertaining action and spot-on performances in this dark, eclectic neo-noir homage.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Harry Lockhart (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he's a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the... Harry Lockhart (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he's a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the right thing. He just doesn't know how, exactly. Harry's perpetual bad luck takes a turn for the better when he and his partner are doing some after-hours Christmas "shopping" at a New York City toy store and the security alarm breaks up the party. (Yeah, it sounds like trouble, but keep reading.) In making his frantic getaway from the cops, Harry inadvertently stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood detective movie, and faster than you can say Jack Robinson, the producer flies him to Los Angeles for a screen test. Thrust into the cutthroat world of L.A.'s pros, cons, losers and wannabes, Harry is teamed with tough-guy private eye Perry van Shrike (VAL KILMER), AKA "Gay Perry," to prepare him for his screen test. Gay Perry is ruthless, relentlessly tough and - you guessed it - gay. He also has little patience for Harry, who tries out his acting skills by passing himself off as a detective. It seems like nothing short of destiny when the thief-trying- to-be-an-actor- impersonating-a-detective crosses paths with Harmony Faith Lane (MICHELLE MONAGHAN), an aspiring actress who needs his help. Inspired by her hero Jonny Gossamer, a fictitious hard-boiled private eye featured in a series of pulp detective novels, Harmony moved to Hollywood to pursue her dreams...but a few years and a lot of rejections later, she's facing the harsh reality that her best days may be behind her. When the mysterious suicide of Harmony's sister intersects with a seemingly unrelated case that Harry and Gay Perry are investigating, they suddenly find themselves embroiled in a real-life murder mystery. Bodies surface and re-surface...long-buried family secrets erupt in present-day mayhem...and what began as a free trip to L.A. may result in Harry's one-way ticket to the city morgue. If he's going to stay alive and become the hero that Harmony needs him to be, Harry will have to convince a reluctant Gay Perry to help him solve the case. He'll need to channel Jonny Gossamer's tough-as-nails swagger. And a little dose of luck - or is it fate? - wouldn't hurt, either. --© Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Robert Downey, Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen
Starring: Robert Downey, Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen
Director: Shane Black
Director: Shane Black
Screenwriter: Shane Black
Producer: Joel Silver, Steve Richards, Carrie Morrow, Susan Levin
Composer: John Ottman
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Bold and breathless, this trippy, hilarious, know-it-all comedy-thriller will have you reliving its ironic spoils for days, but you’ll still be hard-pressed to nail the actual story.
An ultra-knowing exercise in genre deconstruction, and something of a charmer to boot.
It's the laugh-a-minute repartee of this odd couple that drives the movie far more than the ridiculously overly complicated plot.
As a slice of disposably self-referential entertainment, it more than earns its keep, and also acts as an effective witness-protection programme for two stars who were formerly more in need of a bullet than a kiss.
[A] smart, hilarious blend of detective story and action film, relishing the viciously twisting plot and the chance to take sarcastic swipes at life in superficial Los Angeles.
Black is clearly having a huge amount of fun with the film and his witty script takes in everything from Chandleresque pulp novels to trashy Hollywood clichés and knowing in-jokes.
A very writerly film, incessantly displaying a preoccupation with its own storytelling structure and cheekily blowing the lid off other movies' tropes and wiles.
It's a movie that becomes so taken with itself, that it seems to be doing the laughing instead of the viewer.
Slick, sassy and downright delicious "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is a royal cinematic treat.
An effervescent ride buoyed in no small amount by the agility of the actors
Goes for [snarky postmodernism] immediately, then, to my surprise, deftly pulls it off.
Shane Black's film noir is a movie with no particular reason for existing, a flashy, trifling throwaway whose surface cleverness masks a self-infatuated credulity.
Probably won't do your karma any favors, but there may not be a better time in theaters this year. If Satan is indeed involved in Black's career, then Satan deserves a raise.
Latest News for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
February 17, 2006:
2 Afflecks and a Beauty Plan a "Baby"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck will soon be making his directorial debut on Miramax's "Gone, Baby Gone," a crime story adapted from the novel by... More...
December 23, 2005:
San Diego, Vegas & Utah Critics Make Their Year-End Picks
Thanks again to MovieCityNews.com for keeping us up-to-date on all the year-end critics flick-picks. This time it's the San Diego, Las Vegas and Utah reviewers who share their... More...
December 22, 2005:
Phoenix & Toronto Critics Offer Their Year-End Favorites
It's tough to keep up with all the critics' awards being tossed out this time of year, but Movie City News sure helps out a whole lot. This time we have the year-end picks from... More...
December 16, 2005:
London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...
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