Tuesday, August 01, 2006

In case the locker room scene in "Top Gun" wasn't overt enough for you: "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

Full disclosure: I was predisposed to like this movie.

First, as much as I've chided him in other posts, Val Kilmer generally piques my curiosity -- the guy really has talent. Him playing a gay detective wasn't an exception.

Second, while the reviews were mixed, most acknowledged that this was kind of funky and at least a noble effort. These days, I salute that.

Third, well ... I guess I like Robert Downey Jr. Oh, not for stuff like "Less Than Zero" and "Chaplin." For me, his finest hours were as one of the teen bullies in "Weird Science" ("Bar!") and the weird friend in "Back to School" ("I don't think so, Osborne!"). Sure, those movies came out 20 years ago, but the classics never get old, nor the great roles.

As we know, our man Bobby has had some tough times since then, but he and Val both seem to be having fun in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," and that goes a long way toward making this an entertaining movie.

Our story has Downey as a small-time New York hood who gets mistaken for an aspiring actor and shipped off to L.A. to learn from Kilmer, the aforementioned gay detective. But wait! Our heroes stumble across a bonafide murder mystery, which also entangles a young woman with connections to Downey. She's played by Michelle Monaghan, whom you may know from "Mission: Impossible III" and who reminded me of that "Grey's Anatomy" chick -- you know, the woman in "Old School" who was from Denver ("Sunshine State ... Gorgeous!") -- only not as annoying.

Also in the mix is Corbin Bernsen. Yeah, Roger Dorn from "Major League!" ("I've only got one thing to say to you, Vaughn ... ") And there's Larry Miller, comedian extraordinaire often seen in those Christopher Guest movies. These guys, plus other competent folks, make a decent cast. As for the story, it's a bit convoluted, but I liked the twists and Downey's narration, especially such lines as "Stop picking at that, it'll just get worse" and "Don't worry, I saw Lord of the Rings. I'm not going to end this 17 times."

Really, Downey and Kilmer --who gets this good line: "This isn't good cop, bad cop. This is fag and New Yorker" -- are both pretty funny, separately and together. And Downey is good with Monaghan, too. The three generally buy into the comedy-noir thing, and I'm a little surprised this didn't turn out to be Downey's second threesome. The first, of course, was "Two Girls and a Guy." Not sure what happened to the pizza place.

2 Comments:

At 10:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The best line in this movie hands down. "Check out Doris and Lucinda." This movie is great.

 
At 3:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jefferson,
This is Roxane, Amy's friend from the Y. I love your reviews and often check them out either before/after renting a DVD. Just saw this movie last night and loved it----though I am very positively biased where Robert Downey is concerned---one of my favorite actors---and great to look at as well!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home