Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, 102 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373469/
A movie pick on a whim, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was selected as the movie of the night. I like the main cast so I was expecting a fun little mystery.
Robert Downey Jr. stars as Harry Lockhart, a newcomer to Hollywood. There he befriends Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) and falls in love with Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan). The trio of stars quickly find themselves wrapped up in a mystery straight out of a classic mystery novel.
Robert Downey Jr.'s lead role is definitely a love-hate character. The movie is given in such a way where it's poking fun of itself constantly and we get Downey's Lockhart as the narrator. Lots of times the narrator screws up, curses, and otherwise breaks the fourth wall (as much as a narrator can) as he tells his story. It ends up where it seems like Lockhart doesn't care if we enjoy the story or not. And to me, if the narrator isn't caring, then why should I care? I, personally, disliked the character immensely and it was just setting up a dislike for the movie as a whole. Perry gets the next most screen time and I feel his character is supposed to be more likable. Harmony is overall somewhat boring and I don't feel that Monaghan does much to impress me in the role.
The characters themselves are just overall too quirky. As I mentioned above, I didn't know if I should like or dislike Lockhart. A similar situation almost develops with Perry but I feel like the movie eventually pushes you to liking him as he ends up helping more often than not and also being a voice of reason. Still, the stupid nuances and tendencies of all three of the main characters here makes each one have glaring flaws.
There's a fine line a movie walks when a movie pokes fun at itself constantly. Shoot 'Em Up does it great; Kung Fu Hustle succeeds pretty well; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang doesn't. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to me dares the viewer to not dislike its quirks (with a purposeful double negative there). It throws everything out there and seems to say "Do you like this? You better." but to me everything just fell flat. I guess it tries to play off as a silly noir movie or something with some of its characteristics: death and mystery centered around acting, an untrustworthy narrator, and complicated love relationships. But I just felt like it kind of took these elements and threw them in the movie without a care to if they "stuck" or not. For instance, the main plot centers around the mystery of the dead girl and that. But after a while, I just stopped caring. The movie seemed to be going through the motions of giving the viewer some expected elements and not going into detail where necessary or even really caring what else it did.
Overall, I gave this film a 3/10. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang does not take itself seriously at all. This results in some humorous moments, sure, but on the whole it leaves me with an apathetic feeling towards everything going on in the film. However, I'm giving it a 3/10 because I can understand how it can be likable (but I certainly couldn't understand anyone "loving" this movie and proclaiming its greatness). The biggest problem is that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang seems to do a lot of stuff and just not care if you like it or not, daring you to disagree with its choice of presentation.
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