Movies We Like: ‘Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang’

“It’s one of those parties where if a girl is named Jill she spells it J-Y-L-L-E, ya know…that s**t.”  –Harry Lockhart

Those who have read my piece about a film noir revival and the film Brick know that I am an emphatic fan of the noir genre.  While I have a deep love for the classics that fell within the initial movement (arguably 1941-1959), there are still some neo-noir films that spark my interest (not enough, which is why I asked for a revival!).  One of these films is the extremely fun Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.  It is a very different noir film that is funny and opposite the dark, desperate, lonely noir films of years past.

In a rare combination of coincidences, Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) is a petty thief in New York City who finds himself auditioning for a role in a new detective film.  He goes to Los Angeles after being accepted as a potential candidate.  Harry is a fast-talking, chain smoking and delightfully sarcastic protagonist that makes this neo-noir film one of the best.

After getting invited to a party in the Hollywood hills, Harry meets Gay Perry (Val Kilmer).  Perry is an (ironically gay) quick-witted private investigator that asks Harry to participate in a murder investigation in preparation for his potential film role.  Perry’s homosexuality plays on the theorists of the 1940’s and 1950’s that psychoanalyzed many noir protagonists as being gay men (I know, those theories are a stretch at times).

Also at the party is Harry’s high school sweetheart, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan).  She is an aspiring actress who fled her life in the Midwest to pursue a career in Hollywood.  Unfortunately, her only claim to fame is a dorky beer commercial.  She is a type of spider woman (men get caught in her web of problems).  However, the difference is that she is not anti-heroic.  Her intentions throughout the film are good, but her bad luck lands hard on both Harry and Perry.  Harmony is an unintentional seductress that seduces Harry into her life.  In turn, her problems end up his problems.

As luck would have it, Harry, Harmony, and Perry all end up in the middle of a life-threatening murder investigation full of quick witted and humorous dialogue.  While aesthetically appealing, this film is largely driven by the character’s conversations.  Note one of my favorite scenes below after Harry notices a corpse in his bathtub while peeing.  Understandably startled, he turns quickly and accidentally pees on it.

Harry: I peed on the corpse. Can they do, like, an ID from that?
Perry: I’m sorry, you peed on…?
Harry: On the corpse. My question is…
Perry: No, my question. I get to go first. Why in pluperfect hell would you pee on a corpse?

Visually, the film is not necessarily noir since most scenes, even those at night, are very bright. Thematically and dialogically, however, it is very much noir. Much of the film is told by a voice over narration from Harry.   The nature of his narration is often self-reflexive as he acknowledges the film audience, which makes it fun.  Perry even says, “Do not play detective. This is not a book. This is not a movie.” Voice over Narration and self-reflexivity is common in noir film (see both at work in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard).

Harry: “Wow, I feel sore. I mean physically, not like a guy who’s angry in a movie in the 1950’s.”

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is also reflexive of the source material for many of the detective films of the 1940’s.  Harmony is a lifelong fan of hard-boiled Jonny Gossamer novels, which provide a throwback to the work of Raymond Chandler.  Many of Chandler’s books have been made into films, for example: The Long Goodbye, The Big Sleep, and Murder, My Sweet.

Harry provides a great contrast between the private eye (Perry) and the everyman (aka the viewer).  He represents everything that could possibly go wrong when the average person would attempt to be a private detective.  He realizes he can’t physically defend himself, every “real” criminal has the drop on him (they easily plant a corpse in his hotel room), and he has no real detecting skills.

In many ways Perry is a typical hard-boiled detective but the fact that he is gay makes for some hilariously awkward situations that never would have worked in the classic Humphrey Bogart films (Hays code wouldn’t allow).  Towards the beginning Harry asks Perry, “Still gay?”  Perry responds sarcastically, “Me? No. I’m knee-deep in p***y. I just like the name so much, I can’t get rid of it.”

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a great revisionist noir that relies on self-reflexive humor to keep the film running on a positive note.  By making a big deal out of everything large and small throughout the film, Harry’s dialogue and narration keeps the audience smiling.  There are enough classical references to keep film buffs happy but there is also enough contemporary humor to keep the film from feeling dated.  It is one of the most overlooked films in recent year; if you haven’t seen it go check it out!