You know how a lot of Beck songs are exceedingly cool, even though it’s difficult to follow what he’s singing about? Well this movie is just like one of those Beck songs — confusing as hell, but it’s got a retro LA vibe going on, it’s clever, kooky, it’s … it’s … it’s got a Devil’s Haircut in its mind, or something along those lines. “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” is about as much fun as you can have watching total nonsense, which is precisely what writer-director Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight”) has wrought in this frenetic pulpy murder-mystery, buddy flick, action-thriller, true romance, film noir parody. It’s illogical yet smart and sexy, pure escapism flavored with snappy dialogue, improbable plot twists, hip tunes, and standout performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, along with rising young starlet Michelle Monaghan (the upcoming “North Country”).
Harry Lockhart (Downey Jr.) is a pretty good guy trapped in a lowlife petty thief’s lifestyle who gets by (barely) on assured self-delusion and waggish charm, a combination that really showcases Downey’s considerable strengths. His tongue-in-cheek narration also is a highlight. After a toy store heist in New York goes bad, Harry stumbles into a Hollywood audition for a detective flick and miraculously winds up in Los Angeles for a screen test. At a party in the Hollywood Hills, he meets a gay gumshoe named Perry van Shrike (Kilmer, the best he’s been since “Tombstone”) who’s been hired by the producers to prep Harry for his role as a private detective. He also reunites with a childhood crush, former classmate Harmony Faith Lane (Monaghan), an aspiring actress who has the decency not to point out that Harry looks at least 10 years her senior (Monaghan’s damn good, but an actress closer to her leading man’s age might have been more convincing). Shortly thereafter, bodies begin piling up, and Harry reluctantly shifts from play-sleuthing to the real thing with an eye on bedding the increasingly unstable femme fatale Harmony. Events unfold rapidly and with hard-to-discern connection to each other, but as we careen toward the climax Black and his main players manage to hold things together with some wickedly comical set pieces and plenty of irreverent attitude.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 21, 2005. Read the original PDF.