You Should See: Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang
Mar62010
Lani and I have not had a good couple of days–hey, they can’t all be keepers–so tonight we sat down with Chinese food and a movie. We have a basket of movies-we-meant-to-watch DVDs, and I had this vague idea of going through these not-new-releases and doing reviews here on Argh for the ones I like (because what’s the point of beating on something you don’t like; you don’t like it, don’t talk about it), and tonight, Lani pulled one out and said, “Him,” “him” being Robert Downey, Jr. So we watched Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang and now we’re chipper again because the movie was terrific.
I’m not a big fan of post-modernism, but when meta is done right, I love it, and this movie gets it right. It begins with a narrator, which I hate in movies, with a blustering faux-noir voice, which I loved immediately. He’s Harry Lockhart, he’s a petty thief, he’s Robert Downey, Jr, and he’s in way over his head. Also, remarkably disorganized as a narrator:
Some things happen at the beginning of the film but in very short order, Harry’s at a Hollywood party where he meets Harmony Faith Lane, a girl that reminds him of his high school sweetheart, who turns out to be his high school sweetheart, and a successful detective, Perry Van Shrike, aka Gay Perry, aka Val Kilmer in his best performance since Real Genius. After that, people use very bad language a lot, there are many dead bodies, Perry calls Harry an idiot many times, Harry loses a finger, and Harmony takes off her clothes, all of it accompanied by a lot of very fast, very funny dialogue. Since Lani/Lucy and I are dialogue junkies, we were delighted. (The screenplay is at My PDF Scripts. Yes, I downloaded it, this stuff is good.)
So it’s a violent, meta, at times illogical and generally excellent buddy-absurdist-noir-mystery-comedy that we recommend highly. And it’s on AMC March 14 at 7:30 AM ET so you can record it for free and watch it at a decent hour with some Chinese. We had potstickers, sesame shrimp, and cashew chicken.
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer, five out of five, uh, potstickers from Jenny and Lani/Lucy.
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56 Comments to 'You Should See: Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang'
On March 7, 2010 at 12:26 am toni said...
You had me at RDJ, but you sealed it with the potstickers.
(um, are potstickers non-carb?) (ducking) (running)
On March 7, 2010 at 3:34 pm Jenny said...
South Beach is not in my neighborhood. No matter where I live.
On March 8, 2010 at 10:49 am Meredith B. said...
I am going to move to your neighborhood. My entire family has decided to bring South Beach to Cincinnati. I suspect them of other acts of evil and insanity, as well.
On March 7, 2010 at 2:17 am Deanna Nelle said...
I love that movie.
On March 7, 2010 at 3:17 am CrankyOtter said...
coupla years ago my brother insisted the family watch that at Thanksgiving and we all loved it. Then we watched a little Firefly and played some Guitar hero. Along with the texas BBQ and the terducken, it was an excellent thanksgiving. It also inspired me to go see Ironman with RDJ which was also mostly excellent.
On March 7, 2010 at 4:28 am LilyC said...
Thanks for the recommendation – the trailer was hilarious and I’ve just ordered it from Amazon (only £3.99 if there are any other Brits out there).
Sorry you’ve had a less-than-perfect couple of days. If it’s any comfort, when I feeling equally shabby, in addition to the Chinese food and movie, I like to include re-reading one of your books (or Lani’s or Krissy’s or CJ’s…). You’re a clinically-proven part of the process. So thank you. Lots.
On March 7, 2010 at 7:58 am SnarkMaiden said...
do try the UK Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for contrast; a hugely moving, sad, fun, black, redemptive movie. standout scene for me; when the assasin has been overdosed on nicotine patches put on him in his sleep, wakes up and richochets around the room included a couple of passes through the wardrobe. Paul Bettany is *amazing* too. but bring a box of tissues as it’s a weepie
On March 7, 2010 at 8:16 am Sam said...
Ah! I saw this a while ago thanks to Netflix and a love of Robert Downey Jr. Or was this the beginning of my love for him…I don’t think so, but it’s possible.
Anyway, that was so much fun to watch and it was a great movie.
On March 7, 2010 at 9:51 am Kathleen said...
I caught this movie a few years ago and promptly recommended it to everyone I knew. The dialogue really is terrific. (Though I have to say, I loved Val Kilmer more than RDJ. I’m a sucker for Val when he’s on his A-game.)
On March 7, 2010 at 10:56 am Diane said...
Oh yes, this movie was wonderful. I laughed so hard so many times that I thought I might crack a rib. The only disconnect for me was that Downey Jr.’s love interest, supposedly his contemporary, looked about 40 years younger than him. His face sure has some interesting mileage on it.
On March 7, 2010 at 3:35 pm Jenny said...
She was fine, but somebody with some real personality could have made a meal of that part.
On March 7, 2010 at 11:16 am Jennifer said...
Excellent. I’ll put it on the Girl’s Movie Night list. Thanks!
On March 7, 2010 at 11:39 am Kelly S said...
meta? for me that means metadata but it doesn’t seem to work here. I look it up and wikipedia’s answer didn’t really help me much. Could you make it clearer?
On March 7, 2010 at 3:22 pm JulieB said...
I thought I sort of understood it from connotation on the first reference, but after the second used, I realized I didn’t. Thanks for asking — I was scrolling through comments to see if anyone defined it.
I saw KKBB a while back and second the potsticker review.
On March 7, 2010 at 3:39 pm Jenny said...
Self-aware and self-referential. It’s a story about a story. A classic narrator tells the story to put you in the story; a meta-narrator tells the story and reminds you that it’s a story, commenting on the story as he’s in the story. A lot of the time, it’s just pretentious and annoying–see most post-modernist fiction–but this one plays off the noir tradition and underscores the fact that the whole thing is off the wall (dangling above a freeway hanging on to the arm of a corpse in a casket?).
Another good example is the Northern Exposure episode with the duel, where Joel (I think) stops the duel by saying, “This isn’t the kind of show this is, we can’t do this,” and then one of the characters says, “There’s the party scene, that’s a good one,” and Joel says, “Yeah, let’s do that,” and the scene shifts to the party.
On March 7, 2010 at 6:52 pm JulieB said...
Ah!
On March 7, 2010 at 7:06 pm Verona St. James said...
Or like the ending of Wayne’s World with the “scooby doo ending” bit?
On March 7, 2010 at 11:41 am Shannan said...
I love that movie like Whoa and Damn. It’s on my keeper shelf.
On March 7, 2010 at 1:15 pm Beki said...
This looks like a movie night with the husband kinda film. We need a few more of those if you happen to come across anything else in the basket!
On March 7, 2010 at 1:48 pm inkgrrl said...
I can’t believe I still haven’t seen this movie… and yes, potstickers! Can you believe we have no Chinese delivery where we are? The ‘burbs are just wrong.
On March 7, 2010 at 3:39 pm Jenny said...
We don’t, either. I drive to get it. Such is the allure of potstickers.
On March 7, 2010 at 4:22 pm r. said...
Great movie – love Potstickers and Gen. Zao’s Chicken with extra chili peppers.
Is it too early for dinner?
On March 7, 2010 at 5:07 pm Rosie said...
This movie got we when RDJ, who has just been shot by a cop and is running away, stumbles into an audition and while panicking and bleeding aces the audition. Cool. The dialog is aces. What the Thin Man would be if made today, except without Myrna Loy and Asta. And the great clothes.
On March 7, 2010 at 6:15 pm francois said...
I wish there more more films as good as this to watch. It all hangs on the writing. I can forgive failure in almost every other area in a film, but if I’m mentally rewriting it while watching…its over.
On March 7, 2010 at 7:35 pm Bethany said...
Darnit. Now I want to order chinese food. And the boy is working super late tonight so it would all be for me, no sharing and Chinese food is meant for sharing.
On March 8, 2010 at 12:28 am Micki said...
Despite the fact that “a slow boat to China” takes less than 24 hours to get from here to there, I haven’t been able to find any decent Cashew Chicken in Japan. (-: Maybe it’s meta-Chinese, that you can only find in America, LOL!
OK, done griping, very happy to have this recommendation, because if there’s one thing I *can* find here, it’s American movies! Yay!
On March 8, 2010 at 10:40 am Susan D said...
Okay, you had me until “…Harry loses a finger.” Ewwww. Okay, I still gotta go for it, but I’ll just fast forward through the digital excisement scene.
On March 8, 2010 at 12:15 pm Donna said...
I saw ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ and thought, COOL, I love that show.
Nope, wrong ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’. I was thinking about the episode from Torchwood that James Marsters (Spike for all you Buffy fans ) guest stared in. Then I read further and realized that is was a completely different show/movie.
For all of you reading this going Huh??? Torchwood is a UK tv show spin off from Dr. Who. James Marsters guest stars in the second season of the show. Its kind of dark, but lots of fun.
Anyway . . .
On March 8, 2010 at 3:59 pm Carol Anne said...
We love Dr Who. Torchwood – will try to find it in Canada. Love, love TV shows from the UK.
On March 8, 2010 at 4:06 pm Carol Anne said...
Yes, I remember now, checked out the website and “viola” the memory came back.
On March 9, 2010 at 10:13 am Susan D said...
Carol Anne, try the local library. I got the Torchwood first season from TPL. I could watch John B all day and all night. (Though not sure I want to continue, as it apparently gets darker and darker and darker, with more than fingers at stake….)
On March 8, 2010 at 12:32 pm GeekMom13 said...
This movie is definitely on my list now…love RDJ in anything! As for the Chinese, I make my own potstickers so there are an all the time favorite but now I’m craving some good honey walnut shrimp. It’s now my favorite Chinese take out dish.
Can’t say I had as much luck this weekend. Life has been stressful and I watched Easy Virture with Colin Firth and Jessica Beil (sp?) and it was just more depressing. I’ll add KKBB to my Netflix and hopefully have something more fun to watch!
On March 8, 2010 at 1:11 pm Sure thing said...
Love that movie. Watch the scenes on You Tube where they (RDJ and VK) interview each other. Hilarious.
On March 8, 2010 at 1:57 pm Charlene Teglia said...
Rented that a couple of months ago. Loved it. Loved the ending.
On March 8, 2010 at 2:46 pm McB said...
Potstickers, yum. I’ll take the extra carbs if anyone is trying to avoid them. Never saw the point, myself. South Beach was invented by some guy to get rich. Thank goodness that fad is moving on.
Haven’t seen the movie, but meta-narration (I didn’t know the name for it, so thanks for that) can be fun when it’s done right. RDJ has a rocky history but there’s a reason he keeps coming back. He’s got a kind of genius about acting. I might have to give that movie a try.
On March 8, 2010 at 2:52 pm McB said...
And speaking of genius, Marsters reads the audio version of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series.
On March 9, 2010 at 4:35 pm Carrie said...
I don’t normally do audio versions of anything, but the Marsters-Dresden Files combination has me deeply intrigued.
On March 8, 2010 at 3:12 pm Allie said...
I love that movie. Love it so much.
ALSO THE BOOK GOT HERE WHILE I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF FINALS. This is dangerous territory. Do I open it just to open it or do I leave it be for two days while I finish a project on library programming? New Jenny book…library programming…new Jenny book…failing class…ARGH!
On March 8, 2010 at 4:03 pm Jennifer said...
Mine came Saturday. I suggest you wait to open it, because you won’t be putting it down until you get to the end.
On March 8, 2010 at 4:15 pm Allie said...
I made my boyfriend hide it from me. Heh.
On March 8, 2010 at 5:37 pm CG said...
Mine came today. I can’t wait for the kiddos to go to bed so I can start!
On March 8, 2010 at 5:52 pm Jeepgirl said...
Mine came today. My teenage son already got food on it because I was reading it at the dinner table. (sigh)
On March 8, 2010 at 8:43 pm JulieB said...
Keep it hiden. I’ve been whispering “my precious” ever since mine arrived Saturday.
On March 8, 2010 at 9:50 pm Karen B said...
Mine came Friday but I hadn’t read my book club book for Sunday so I made myself wait… and then I didn’t read the other book anyway. I am afraid to start it tonight because I have a control problem with Crusie books. I will start it at 10 and the next thing I know it will be three in the morning.
On March 8, 2010 at 8:39 pm Micki said...
WHAT? You aren’t talking about the book to the movie, are you? (-: I need to make plans to clear my weekend, if it is shipping early . . . . Anyone see their book come from Amazon?
On March 8, 2010 at 8:44 pm JulieB said...
We’re talking about the contest book.
On March 9, 2010 at 11:03 pm Micki said...
Ohhhhhh. (small sad smile). Enjoy! (perky little smile: Wild Ride is going to be coming soon!)
On March 8, 2010 at 8:44 pm JulieB said...
I think….
On March 8, 2010 at 9:49 pm Allie said...
I was.
I was so happy to see it, I took a picture of myself with it. For I am a book nerd. All lesser book nerds, bow before me.
On March 8, 2010 at 10:11 pm Jennifer said...
What a great idea! I’m going to take a picture of myself with mine, too. But you did think of it first, so I do bow before you.
On March 9, 2010 at 10:28 am Bethany said...
I shrieked when I saw the envelope from St. Martin’s at my front desk. Poor desk woman. I bought cookies from her girl scout daughter to make up for the shrieking. Read it obsessively that day. My boyfriend I think would have been offended that I told him not to worry about coming home late from band practice because I had a book, except that he realized it was the Crusie book. I really really really can’t wait until I’m able to discuss it with people. Is ok to give one piece of advice? Don’t read it before trying to go to sleep. Unless your apartment has no drafts whatsoever.
On March 9, 2010 at 12:28 pm Allie said...
Well, I wasn’t clever enough to flip the image so you can read the words on the cover properly. I guess I could do it now, but it amuses me at this point.
On March 9, 2010 at 3:07 pm Carol Anne said...
Just turned on the TV while I work – Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang just started. I am not sure how much work I will get done now.
On March 9, 2010 at 5:06 pm Carol Anne said...
Will have to watch it again, got a phone call which turned into a long conversation, saw what I could with the volume turned down, and there are a lot of dead people. There is a “bear line” at the end….
On March 9, 2010 at 4:37 pm Carrie said...
I rented KKBB from iTunes in December. (Hmm. Or did I buy it/ I’m too young for this faulty of a memory.) ANYWAY, I, too, loved it and consider it worth re-watching because of the dialogue.
On March 16, 2010 at 1:41 pm Karen said...
First time I’ve ever commented, but I love Jennifer Crusie and I love Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. I went head over heels for the movie but the rest of my family (teenage sons & daughters) thought I was nuts. They did not agree with me that RDJ was cute and sexy. They were, like, “EW.” Anyway, along comes Iron Man, and suddenly my two teenage daughters weren’t going, “EW” any longer.