Ed Douglas was working close to where I live right before Christmas and I decided to join him to go see KISS KISS BANG BANG the film that got Robert Downey Jr the Marvel gig and influenced any number of films that followed it.
The plot of the film has Downey as a NYC crook being chased by the cops and ending up hiding out in an audition for an upcoming film. He manages to score a screen test, is flown to LA and get hooked up with Val Kilmer as a private detective who has to show him the ropes. They then end up in the middle of a murder mystery that strikes very close to home.
Witty, tense and not at all dated despite references that showed have made the film cringe worthy out of date, KISS KISS BANG BANG is a great deal of fun. It's a film that influenced so many other films simply because if nothing else this is where Downey's Tony Stark was born.
Yes the film doesn't always make sense and yes, it is a riff on the LETHAL WEAPON formula, and may have been spiritually remade as THE NICE GUYS but it still works on its own wonderful terms.
I had a blast seeing it for the first time two days before Christmas. (Apparently I have a long ago DVD of this but I never watched it)
Recommended.
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