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Pulp pulp, noir noir
Put down your copy of Pulp Fiction. Shane Black's newest movie is all about the classic pulp novels of the ‘50s—from style, to inspiration and even to plot device. Much like those pulp novels, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang's plot is almost too contrived to explain, but I will try as best as possible: Harry Lockhart (a superb Robert Downey, Jr.) is a down-on-his-luck, low-rent thief, who stumbles his way into a movie audition while on the run from the cops. From there, Harry goes to Hollywood for his screen test, where he is paired up with Gay Perry (an equally superb Val Kilmer), a private eye and technical advisor who—like the name suggests—is gay. At a party in L.A., Harry meets up with Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), who, it turns out, actually remembers Harry back from when they were kids in a small Iowa town. Coincidence? Sure, but in the confines of the story, it makes sense. You see, we soon find out that Harmony was a big fan of the "Jonny Gossamer" series of novels. In the pulp stories, private eye Gossamer would take on two seemingly disparate cases that would eventually intertwine. So, when Harry and Harmony become entangled in a story of murder, deceit and sex, it's not a surprise. They are characters in their own pulp novel. It's not just meta-fiction. It's like meta-meta-fiction—a film noir about a pulp story that involves dime-store novels. The rest of the plot is of little or no consequence. It's funny enough to move us along, but almost too hard to figure out. What is of consequence, however, is the chemistry between Downey and Kilmer. When Harry convinces Harmony that he's a private eye and not a crook-cum-actor, he goes to Perry to help him crack the case. Only Perry really doesn't want anything to do with it. Of course, that's not gonna happen—and good thing for us, because Downey and Kilmer have an uncanny on-screen presence together. Snappy dialogue helps, of course, but the two actors really pull it off and every time they are on screen together, it's magic. Downey , as our "hero," gets a slightly flashier part (Flashier than gay? It's true!), with hilarious narration that pulls us through the story. Kilmer's character is thankfully not a gay stereotype. In fact, it's rarely dwelled on throughout the script, except for one vital and extremely funny scene involving a defibrillator machine. Shane Black—who has been practically A.W.O.L. on the Hollywood scene since the little-seen and aptly-named movie A.W.O.L. in 1999—is back to form that made him a hot commodity during the Lethal Weapon series. Except this time his dialogue is probably even more clever than the original Gibson-Glover vehicle, believe it or not. His directorial debut is nothing special visually, but he holds the story together, and has to be at least partially responsible for Downey and Kilmer's chemistry. Black, Downey and Kilmer, all back to form in one movie? It's almost heaven. Heaven in pulp form. Michael D Friedman is an Atlanta screenwriter and filmmaker. He is a founder and co-president of the Atlanta Screenwriters Group. |
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Directed by: Shane Black 
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