Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Widescreen Edition)
I don't know what to really expect with this movie. It's one that is on the list because it was recommended by a couple of friends, and I kind of thought that if two or three people recommended it then it can't be too bad. Right?
After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)
I like going into movies blind. I like not knowing what a movie is necessarily going to be about or all of the plot points. I mean, nothing is worse than having to watch a movie to know in the end the character is going to die anyways. So with that in mind, I just kind of jumped right into this movie without knowing anything about it. After having watched the movie though, I wish I had been warned about how much happens in such a short amount of time. I felt like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was like episode of Medium where time is such a a big concern that we're not left on a shot of Cate Blanchett staring out a window of a bus for an entire minute. I'm looking at you Bable. The thing about Medium and movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is that the writers will never spend time telling you things that are not important to the story, and I love that.
Although in an ironic twist what I liked most about the movie was also the only real problem, and it's minor, that I had with the movie. In this case, roll your eyes in my direction because I realize how ridiculous that may seem to some people. It took me a minute to get use to having all of these things kind of thrust upon me. I loved the way the movie was narrated, breaking the fourth wall and bringing people more into the movie, and I think it was an incredible tool to set the pacing for the entire movie. Although once I was able to get on board and realized it was a go-go-go paced movie, I loved it.
Of the movie though I loved the introduction we had to Harmony, "Harmony Faith Lane wasn't your typical LA girl, which means she didn't grow up here. She grew up in a burg in Southern Indiana. When in doubt, cut up a pig. That was the towns motto. Like most soon to be fucked up girls, Harmony was wicked smart..." I almost wish more stories utilized this kind of narrating, it saved screen time. In a few words we knew exactly who Harmony was and we could move on with the rest of the story.
I want to be best friends with these writers and the other creative minds responsible for this movie. Relax die hard fans, I know there was another movie made in the 1970s but this is the one I've seen at this point. I also have to confess my new love found like for Val Kilmer, who was responsible for making his character gay. It was brilliant, he was absolutely right, it added a lot of color to the screenplay and then there was that whole kissing Robert Downey Jr that he had insisted upon. I mean, there are people who would line up around the block with any reason as to why they would need to kiss Robert Downey Jr. so it's no surprise to me to find out Val Kilmer would be near the front of that line.
There's one last thing though that kind of drives me crazy about movies lately, and that's when I feel like certain movies are set up to fail. Clash of the Titans is the best example of setting a movie up for failure. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was screened at Canes and received a standing ovation. The film even made more money outside of the United States, and was never in more than 169 screens at one time. Which I mean, come on! The movie would have made more money if it could have been screened on at least 200 screens at one time.
Final thoughts: Do yourself a favor. Prepare yourself to have this very quick paced movie thrown at you and buy this movie from Amazon. Do it, or you'll never die in this town again.
OFFICIAL COUNT 97 DOWN 268 TO GO
Next up: Caddyshack
P.S. I can't take credit for that last line, it was actually set to be the title of the movie. Which I think is brilliant given the undertones of the LA and the cities culture throughout the movie, so can I just be friends with Shane Black and Brett Halliday already?
1 comment:
Shane Black wrote this movie. He also wrote Lethal Weapon. If you ever watch the original 'Predator', he's the guy with big over sized glasses that tells the dirty jokes.
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