Kissing Off KISS KISS BANG BANG

"Were you at the cinema? Did you go to the the cinema? 'Cause I went to the movies." - Shane Black questioning Val Kilmer on the commentary for KISS KISS BANG BANG Yep- that's the only flick I've seen since my last post. So here goes : KISS KISS BANG BANG (Dir. Shane Black, 2005) Its title comes from a phrase coined by an Italian newspaper critic in 1962 referring to James Bond: "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and the whole tone of this movie is just that self consciously hip - well smartass really. It even has a detective film type voice over by Robert Downey Jr. of the smarmy variety (Man, ROMEO IS BLEEDING did the "hey, wait I'm getting a little ahead of myself" fractured narration so much better!) and a convoluted plot which is annoyingly a homage to Raymond Chandler (like what LA crime caper isn't?) it even quotes the man directly in sequence heading titles. There is some good work here in both the writing and acting - Val Kilmer as Gay Perry (that name is not an example of good work in the writing - just to be clear) makes the smarm work for him and Michelle Monaghan amusingly plays with her lines just like her character toys with her men. Its just that the whole thing is so drenched in smartass sarcasm that it made me think repeatedly "this movie is sooo ten years ago!" George Burns once said "the secret of acting is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made." Wish Shane Black had learned to fake a little better on this project. Now here's an email I got from a filmbabble reader about my last post : "I don't know...the Silverman thing? some of it's funny but there's a line between being funny and just being an arsehole. But I guess that's pretty much all comedy. I guess i don't know which side i'm on. Like that lemonade joke, pretty damn funny, mighty clever, but i feel like there's no real empathy or anything to give it weight; just an easy joke. Actually really looking forward to Superman, don't really know why. Haven't kept up with it in years. hey, ever accidentally lock your keys in your...motorcycle? Now see, that's sharp and empathetic -who hasn't been there? Sorry, Drunk Thanks Drunk for your comments. Keep on reading Film Babble Blog! More later...