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August 25, 2010
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Another night with the Agadonis brought another movie I've been meaning to see but never seen, even though people have been telling me to see it for a long time. I'm sorry, but I have a Netflix queue that's roughly 400 movies long, so when people tell me to watch something, I can probably only tell them I'll see it within the next five years - if I'm lucky. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (the punctuation-free title makes me wince) was ages away from being seen, so I'm glad Amy chose it as her pick for the evening.
The movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as a thief named Harry who accidentally ends up at a movie audition and gets invited to a party, where he meets Perry. Perry (Val Kilmer, in possibly his best role ever) asks Harry to join him in an investigation, which will help Harry get into character more. Another person Harry meets at the party is Harmony, who turns out to be a childhood friend. Between Perry's investigation and Harmony's past, Harry's quest for a better life is derailed and the three end up entangled in a puzzle filled with dead bodies (sometimes recurring ones).
I love how the movie turns into a noirish jumble of mistaken identity and murder mystery in a present-day setting. It moves a little more quickly than typical noir, but the introspection on Harry's part is what gives the movie its depth. Every once in a while, I felt like the story-telling methods were a little bit overdone. There were fun gimmicks, but they weren't necessary ones, and they didn't always fit in with the overall feel of the movie.
This is the first time I've been impressed with Michelle Monaghan. I know a lot of people liked her in Gone Baby Gone (wow, she likes her movie titles sans punctuation, doesn't she?!), but I never felt like she was given much of a chance to shine because her character was underdeveloped. After watching this movie, I can't help but wonder why I haven't seen a lot of her. At the risk of getting too Mary, I have to say that I think the lighter color of hair makes her stand out much more. She's so vivid here, and it's no wonder that Downey's character is head-over-heels for her. As always, Downey's a charmer and plays well off of Monaghan and Kilmer, although I have to admit that he comes across as RDJ more than Harry to me, because I've seen him do the charming, chatty routine a few times.
At any rate, I can see this being a movie that I would stop to watch whenever it's on TV. It's got such a good balance of humor and darker material, the players are all perfectly cast, and it was fun to see a modern spin on noir that worked.
Posted by Jeri 
at 02:32:29 pm | [no category assigned], movies, with the agadonis
4 comments
Something I just noticed while reading your review: the names have to be intentional, right? You've got Perry, who is Harry's foil ("parry"), you've got Harmony, who's supposed to bring peace to Harry's life, and then there's Harry, who I guess has a "hairy" life? I dunno. Isn't there a trope within the noire genre that uses names like this, like "Hammer"? Seems like something writer Shane Black would do in this movie. 
Good point, Ryan. I thought the use of Harmony was particular, but didn't notice the connection with Perry. 
I saw this in the theater but don't remember anything except for Val Kilmer's distractingly chewed-up neck.And not to out-Mary you, but Michelle Monaghan has always struck me as a poor woman's Liv Tyler and I don't like her nose which reminds me of Marcia Gay Harden.
I remember reviews of this movie praising it for finally bringing to the surface the homoerotic subtext of the buddy cop genre, but the tension between male friendship and homophobia was a major theme in one of earliest buddy cop comedies, Freebie and the Bean. Which makes KKBB about thirty years late to that party.
Still, I would enjoy revisiting KKBB now that my noir education is a lot better than it was five years ago. But this time I'll try to ignore Kilmer's scar tissue.
Hahah. I never noticed Kilmer's scar tissue. I do need to re-watch Heat though, because I remember something crazy was up with his elbow in that movie. That'st he only thing I remember about Heat. I like that you and I are slowly becoming Marys in our own right. I love your Mary description of Michelle Monaghan. The homoerotic subtext of the buddy cop genre doesn't seem like it fits into this movie since this isn't a buddy cop movie, but maybe that's just me.
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