Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Yesterday, I talked about Robert Downey, Jr.'s comeback and the smart career choices he made on his path back to stardom. His best film during this time, and possibly his best film ever was 2005's noirish action comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

During a night time robbery that gets busted, small time thief Harry Lockhart evades the cops by ducking into a film audition. Harry is shaken because he just saw his partner gunned down, and his jittery nerves actually get him cast in the movie. He is whisked away from New York to LA and is teamed up with real life detective Gay Perry, Val Kilmer, to help him get into the mindset of the role he's about to play. The two meet at a Hollywood Christmas party. At the same party, Harry runs into his boyhood crush Harmony, Michelle Monaghan, who gets Harry and Perry involved in a real life whodunit.

This movie is a lot of fun. This isn't just a comeback film for Downey, but also Kilmer and writer/director Shane Black. Kilmer wasn't the A lister he once was and it's a nice return to comedy for him. He and Downey work very well together and are obviously having a lot of fun. Even the commentary between the two on the dvd/blu ray is entertaining. And Shane Black, who made his directorial debut with this, was once the go to guy in Hollywood for action scripts. But after the disasterous Last Action Hero, his stock went down. This was a nice reminder of how talented a writer he is. And a very impressive debut in the director's chair.

If you are in the mood for a great, noirish comedy, you should see it.

It's on dvd and blu ray.