Harry Lockhart is a thief, not an actor. He gets caught in Los Angeles for an audition he never wanted. That’s the premise of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a 2005 crime comedy from director and writer Shane Black, and it is a premise that never lets up. The film, starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen, is a crime thriller that treats hardboiled detective fiction as a joke — a joke with a body count.
The joke is that Harry Lockhart is playing the part of a private detective. The real private eye, Gay Perry, is played by Kilmer, a man who dresses like a costume villain and talks like he has a script memorized. Harry is sent to Los Angeles to do a screen test. Instead, he gets swept into a murder case, a dead body in a lake, and a childhood crush named Harmony Lane, played by Monaghan, who thinks Harry is the detective.
Trailer, via Warner Bros. Rewind.
The Dead Body in the Lake
Harry stumbles into an ongoing audition in New York City while fleeing a burglary that goes wrong. He pretends to be an actor to avoid the police, and a casting director mistakes his emotional breakdown for method acting. That sends him to Los Angeles, where the party he crashes belongs to Harlan Dexter, a retired actor played by Bernsen. At that party, two men dump a car into Big Bear Lake, and Harry and Perry find a corpse in the trunk. Perry shoots the lock to free the body but hits the corpse instead, and the pair decide not to report the death.
The body is later identified as Veronica Dexter, Harlan’s estranged daughter. Perry convinces Harry to leave Los Angeles, arguing that the killers were at the party and their lives are in danger. The film’s central crime is a murder, but the comedy comes from how Harry and Perry treat it — with a shrug, a joke, and a willingness to let the body go.
Harry’s Feelings For Harmony
Harmony is the film’s emotional center, and the script uses her to make the comedy land. She believes her sister, Jenna, was murdered, and she asks Harry to investigate. Harry is not a detective, but Harmony thinks he is. She tells him about how Jenna was sexually abused by their father when they were young, and that Harmony helped her cope by making her believe she was adopted.
The scene where Harmony tells Harry about her sister’s abuse is the film’s most serious moment. It grounds the comedy in something real. Harry is not a good detective, but he is a good listener, and that makes him more than a comic foil.
Gay Perry And The City He Knows
Kilmer plays Perry as a man who knows Los Angeles better than anyone should. His character is a private detective who is also a walking encyclopedia of Los Angeles trivia. He is the film’s straight man, a man who is serious about his job and cynical about everything else. The film is built on the friction between Harry’s charm and Perry’s cynicism, and it works.
Perry’s scenes are some of the best in the film. He is the one who explains the rules of the city, the one who knows which doors to knock on and which to avoid. He is also the one who shoots the lock on the car and hits the corpse, and that moment sums up his character — he is competent, but he is not careful.
The Cast And The City
Downey Jr. plays Harry as a man who is always one step behind. He is charming, and he is a thief, and he keeps getting caught. The film is a showcase for his energy, and he is the reason the movie works. Kilmer matches him beat for beat, playing Perry as a man who is always one step ahead.
Monaghan plays Harmony with a quiet strength. She is a woman who has lost her sister, and she is also a woman who has lived with a lie for years. The film gives her a moment to be angry, and she takes it. Bernsen plays Harlan as a man who has lost his wife and his daughter, and he plays it with a quiet dignity. The film gives him a moment to be sad, and he takes it.
The Film’s Run
The film was shot in Los Angeles between February 24 and May 3, 2004, and it debuted at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2005. It was released in the United States on October 21, 2005. The film was produced by Joel Silver, with Susan Levin and Steve Richards as executive producers.
The film’s script is partially based on the Brett Halliday novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them (1941), and Black’s adaptation is a sharp, funny, and sometimes ruthless take on the genre. The film is a black comedy, but it is also a crime thriller, and it never settles into one mode for too long. The film’s tone is a constant shift between wit and menace.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 24–May 3, 2004 | Filming in Los Angeles |
| May 14, 2005 | Debut at Cannes Film Festival |
| October 21, 2005 | Release in the United States |
A Film Worth Watching
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a film that rewards attention. It is a film that is smarter than it looks, and it is a film that is funnier than it should be. It is a film that respects its audience, and it is a film that respects its genre. It is a film that is worth watching, and it is a film that is worth remembering.
The film is not without its flaws. Some of the jokes fall flat, and some of the plot threads are left loose. But the film’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses. It is a film that is worth watching more than once.
The film’s final line is a perfect send-off. It is a line that says what the film has been saying all along — that Los Angeles is a city of secrets, and that everyone in it is hiding something.
The film is a film that is worth watching, and it is a film that is worth remembering. It is a film that is smarter than it looks, and it is a film that is funnier than it should be. It is a film that is worth your time.
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