My All Time Favorite Movies: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I have been toying with the idea of doing a series of posts on my all time favorite movies for a little while now. Working at a movie theater again has started all of these conversations about movies and I always love to hear what people have on their lists of favorite movies. I decided I would take my 20 favorite movies of all time and write a blog entry about each of them. There are no set qualifications for a movie to be on this list. These are simply my 20 favorite movies of all time. They will not be numbered. Do not assume that I am going in order from 20-1. I will probably do that starting at 10, but honestly 11-20 are not numbered. They kind of exist right outside of the top 10. A few things you will realize as the list goes on are how recent so many of them are, and how Americanized the list is. I make no apologies for this. I know most people who are deep into film as I am often have many movies from the pre-1970s on their lists, but you will only find 2 or 3 of those here. I do not dislike "classic" movies in any way, but they have never stuck with me as much. I respect the craft, but I am rarely left feeling like they are my favorite movies. I cannot really explain it further than that. I am not xenophobic, but when it comes to cinema, I just prefer the American Aesthetic. I have roughly 10 foreign films that I love, but they do not make it into this list. Again, it is just my personal taste. Each post will be labeled as "favorite ever" so you can easily find them as I go on. As always, I love to hear feedback, if not on my choices, on your choices for some of your favorite movies of all time. Okay, onto this week's post. Oh and there will probably be spoilers about each title on the list.



For the longest time when people asked me for a movie recommendation, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was the first movie I would recommend to people. Not very many people saw it in theaters and it was kind of lost on DVD at first. It was obscure enough that most people would not have seen it, but the star, Robert Downey Jr, was enough of a name, that people were willing to go with my recommendation and watch it. I never heard anyone say they did not enjoy the film. Honestly, I do not know anyone who has seen it that does not very much enjoy it. it is that kind of movie. It is witty, hilarious, action packed, and features dynamite performances. Written and directed by Shane Black and resurrecting the career of RDJ, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was an easy choice for this list. It is a movie I can watch no matter what mood I am and totally get a kick out of it. In fact, every time I watch it, I end up laughing at new things.

Shane Black is the screenwriter of Lethal Weapon and a series of action buddy cop movies in the late 80s and early 90s. He was the first screenwriter to make over a million dollars for a screenplay, but the 90s did not stay too kind to him and he sort of vanished. I love his screenplays. They are full of great dialog, but they are also very knowing. I love META movies and while his script for The Last Action Hero was mostly rewritten, he is responsible for the story of it and while I hated it as a teen, I loved it when I became more aware of cinematic language and how cinema worked. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang brought Shane Black back, but not just a screenwriter, as a director. I was probably one of a handful of people who actually saw it in theaters and I loved it instantly. When Jon Favreaux was getting ready to cast Ironman, he wanted RDJ because of his performance in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. In turn, RDJ helped Shane Black get the job to direct Iroman 3. Okay, time to get back to Kiss Kiss bang Bang.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the story of Harry Lockhart (RDJ), a two bit criminal who, as luck would have it, ends up at an audition for a television show and lands a visit to Los Angeles to maybe be on a detective show. He teams up with Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) and ends up trying to solve a real crime or is it two? Lockhart narrates the story, as it is a movie. the film has stops and starts as Lockhart remembers information he forgot to tell us, and he mocks the exposition process, even though he knows, and we know it is necessary. Of course, there is a girl, Harmoney (Michelle Monaghan) that Harry knew as a young boy, and who has grown up to be a wanna be actress, and is at the crux of the mystery.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the best META movie I have ever seen. it winks, nods and flat out tells us we are watching a movie, yet it never gets stale. RDJ gives an awesome performance as Harry Lockhart and his narration is pitch perfect. I love the dynamic between Harry and Gay Perry. Kilmer and RDJ are clearly having a blast with the script and having a blast together. I was really hoping they would both get the carerr resurrection off this movie, but I am glad at least one of them did. Their chemistry is exactly what you want it to be. I love how they fall into the buddy cop routine, but always with a little bit more bite. The movie keeps you guessing, sort of, throughout the story, but it is not really about that. It is about subverting our ideas on the old buddy cop formula, while also being this great pulp film. Here is a sample of how the film subverts the pulp style of dialog by staying true to it, but making it as ridiculous as it actually is:

Harry: Is she a looker?
Perry: She opens the door, and she got nothing on but the radio. Yeah, invites me to sit down, sits on my lap, fires up a spliff.
Harry: Geez. Really?
Perry: No. Idiot.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has some great action as well, especially in the climax. There is enough action to keep things from ever getting stale, but the thing I love most about it, is how RDJ's character reacts to killing someone for the first time. So often in movies people kill someone and quickly move on, but here, the character looks changed. he reflects on it, even briefly to show, he is a man. The characters in this film are treated as people, even if it is very clear to us that it is just a movie. RDJ apologizes for forgetting key information at a key place. He mocks seemingly pointless information, that will clearly be important later and he, of course, swears a lot. Kilmer even apologizes to the Midwest for all of the swearing at the end of the movie. The comedy, though, is what keeps the movie together.

It is probably time for me to go back to this movie and just soak it all in. The pacing and editing are key as well because there are blanks to fill in and the film twists and turns around time to fill those in when needed. It never gets confusing because everyone on the film is doing top notch work. There are scenes that veer into the ridiculous, but you are willing to let the movie go there, because it KNOWS it is ridiculous. It is a movie after all. I love to watch this movie after watching a series of buddy cop movies because it makes the jokes taste that much better going down. Also, if you do not fall in love with the dialog, something is probably wrong with you. If you are still among those who have not seen this wonderful film, do yourself a favor and get it, watch it, and love it!