Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang was made for me personally. Don’t worry if you all don’t get it. It’s just for me... it will give you some insight into my brain.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:118
Rotten:24
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Tongue-in-cheek satire blends well with entertaining action and spot-on performances in this dark, eclectic neo-noir homage.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, violence and sexuality/nudity.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Oct 21, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $4,235,837
Synopsis: Harry Lockhart (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he's a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the... Harry Lockhart (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he's a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the right thing. He just doesn't know how, exactly. Harry's perpetual bad luck takes a turn for the better when he and his partner are doing some after-hours Christmas "shopping" at a New York City toy store and the security alarm breaks up the party. (Yeah, it sounds like trouble, but keep reading.) In making his frantic getaway from the cops, Harry inadvertently stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood detective movie, and faster than you can say Jack Robinson, the producer flies him to Los Angeles for a screen test. Thrust into the cutthroat world of L.A.'s pros, cons, losers and wannabes, Harry is teamed with tough-guy private eye Perry van Shrike (VAL KILMER), AKA "Gay Perry," to prepare him for his screen test. Gay Perry is ruthless, relentlessly tough and - you guessed it - gay. He also has little patience for Harry, who tries out his acting skills by passing himself off as a detective. It seems like nothing short of destiny when the thief-trying- to-be-an-actor- impersonating-a-detective crosses paths with Harmony Faith Lane (MICHELLE MONAGHAN), an aspiring actress who needs his help. Inspired by her hero Jonny Gossamer, a fictitious hard-boiled private eye featured in a series of pulp detective novels, Harmony moved to Hollywood to pursue her dreams...but a few years and a lot of rejections later, she's facing the harsh reality that her best days may be behind her. When the mysterious suicide of Harmony's sister intersects with a seemingly unrelated case that Harry and Gay Perry are investigating, they suddenly find themselves embroiled in a real-life murder mystery. Bodies surface and re-surface...long-buried family secrets erupt in present-day mayhem...and what began as a free trip to L.A. may result in Harry's one-way ticket to the city morgue. If he's going to stay alive and become the hero that Harmony needs him to be, Harry will have to convince a reluctant Gay Perry to help him solve the case. He'll need to channel Jonny Gossamer's tough-as-nails swagger. And a little dose of luck - or is it fate? - wouldn't hurt, either. --© Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Robert Downey, Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen
Starring: Robert Downey, Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen
Director: Shane Black
Director: Shane Black
Screenwriter: Shane Black
Producer: Joel Silver, Steve Richards, Carrie Morrow, Susan Levin
Composer: John Ottman
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Release:
Jun 13, 2006
Reviews for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
A clever, post-modern noir, equal parts loving homage and biting parody.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is as much fun as the title suggests, and packed with banter that rolls off the tongue just as easily.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang could be construed as a kind of oblique mea culpa, but Black is having too much fun to seem all that apologetic.
A trippy tribute to L.A. noir that blazes through its running time, a genre-busting blitzkrieg attack on Hollywood pretentiousness that’s just as full of it as the pulp paperbacks and their myriad filmic offshoots that it lampoons.
The movie itself may be the slyest bit of all, proving that it's possible to come back not just adequately, but better than before.
[A] smart, hilarious blend of detective story and action film, relishing the viciously twisting plot and the chance to take sarcastic swipes at life in superficial Los Angeles.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a terrific one-night stand, but you may wake up, as Harry does, and wonder exactly who you slept with.
It's not Black's material that misses; it's his refusal to let anyone -- especially the audience -- take a breather between all those bangs and kisses.
[A] cheerful mess of a pulp-fiction parody, pumped full of laughs by Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, and Robert Downey Jr.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang contains a lot of comedy and invention, but doesn't much benefit from its clever style.
Black's retro-noir reminds us why we love movies: because they can surprise us, even when we're ankle deep in bullet casings, bodies and enough twists to tie us in knots.
This movie is a classic already – you’ll be quoting it and referencing it as soon as you have walked out of the theater.
Latest News for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
February 17, 2006:
2 Afflecks and a Beauty Plan a "Baby"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck will soon be making his directorial debut on Miramax's "Gone, Baby Gone," a crime story adapted from the novel by... More...
December 23, 2005:
San Diego, Vegas & Utah Critics Make Their Year-End Picks
Thanks again to MovieCityNews.com for keeping us up-to-date on all the year-end critics flick-picks. This time it's the San Diego, Las Vegas and Utah reviewers who share their... More...
December 22, 2005:
Phoenix & Toronto Critics Offer Their Year-End Favorites
It's tough to keep up with all the critics' awards being tossed out this time of year, but Movie City News sure helps out a whole lot. This time we have the year-end picks from... More...
December 16, 2005:
London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...
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