Kiss Kiss Delivers Jokes, But No Plot

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a happy little enigma-at once a stock action film, steeped in all the genre's tedious formulas and cliches, and a vibrant re-envisioning of classic adventure movies, a loving homage to noir that succeeds in its own right.

The film, Shane Black's first in the director's chair, follows the ridiculous exploits of petty thief Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey, Jr.). Forced to pose as an actor in L.A., he finds himself with an unexpected second chance at love with his long-lost high school crush Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), a pulp-obsessed aspiring actress with considerable emotional baggage. But when he's teamed up with the gritty private-eye Perry Van Shrike (Val Kilmer), also known as "Gay Perry" (I'm not joking), to research his new role, Lockhart gets tangled up in humongous whodunit, involving a gruesome murder and the suspicious suicide of Melody's sister. Firefights, car-chases, and emotional strife ensue.

To be sure, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang isn't brilliant. Its mystery is thinly plotted, with a resolution that's about as exciting as the Lawrence Welk Show. The action scenes are merely par for the course, and the romance is as trite as it comes. It's a stellar presentation, however, peppered with just enough irony, that more than makes up for the movie's faults-propelling it from rental fodder to something almost special.

Black is a veteran screenwriter responsible for genre classics like Lethal Weapon, and has used his mastery of the standard character-types and plot points for a bit of subtle espionage; characters like Perry illuminate stereotypes from bizarre new angles, derivative scenes are overblown by at least a degree or two, and Lockhart's self-deprecating narration makes the stale appear fresh and inventive. Black's one liners are crisp, and Kilmer and Downey Jr. couldn't have better chemistry. Nevertheless, an odd tension exists between the obviously intentional irony and the irony that seems to result inadvertently from the film's failure to avoid the genre conventions it lampoons. Fortunately, it conveys its humor to the viewer despite its flaws.