Writer-director Shane Black's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (partially based on Brett Halliday's novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them) is divided into segments titled after books by Raymond Chandler, and offers an updated takeoff on the notoriously convoluted 1940s film noir classic adaptations of same. The plot revolves around a petty thief who comes to Hollywood to audition for a part as a hardboiled private eye, only to get involved in real-life murder and romance. But that bare outline is just something on which to hang overripe dialogue, especially precious narration delivered by star Robert Downey Jr., as well as outrageous twists involving misidentified bodies and wild motivations, lots of slapstick violence (including one sequence featuring an inconvenient corpse), plenty of banter between Downey and Val Kilmer as a gay detective, and a big finale that includes fistfights, car chases, and gunfire. An elaborate cinematic conceit that buffs will have fun deconstructing, the film is ultimately just too clever for its own good—so knowing and so self-satisfied that by the end the smug artificiality of it all has become a bit oppressive. There's a difference between smart and smart-alecky, and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is decidedly the latter; still, there are definitely some amusing lines here. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director Shane Black and costars Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr., a gag reel (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Warner, 103 min., R, DVD: $27.99, May 16 Volume 21, Issue 3
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
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