Movies Section Editor’s Film of the Week (trailer)

Written by Chris YogerstcloseAuthor: chrisyogerst Name: Chris Yogerst
Email: chris@parcbench.com
Site: http://twitter.com/chrisyogerst
About: Chris graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a BA in film studies and English. He is pursuing a master's degree in 'critical studies in film and television' and is the editor of the Parcbench movies section. He is also a contributor to Breitbart's Big Hollywood and Frontpagemag's Newsreal.See Authors Posts (72) on November 9, 2009

This week my pick is the always fun Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.  First time director Shane Black made waves with this stylish film noir parody that is slick from every angle.  The film takes place in modern day L.A., a perfect backdrop for questionable party themes (people in boxes and cages passed off as “art”), failed actors in denial, and a never ending sense of mischief.  Robert Downey Jr’s narration is consistently hilarious: “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.”  The sharp, fast dialogue feels like it was lifted directly (and updated, of course) out of an old Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart film.  Harry (Downey Jr.) is  a crook who ends up auditioning for a role as a private investigator (common noir character) in a film and is being coached by detective “Gay” Perry (Val Kilmer).  They end up getting into some sticky situations that only the perfect noir femme fatale (Harmony, played by Michelle Monaghan) could get them into.

The film is broken into several chapters, each cleverly named after a Raymond Chandler story.  Chandler was one of the most influential literary forces upon film noir with his hard boiled detective novels (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye).  Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a very self aware and reflexive film (making fun of itself and other films) and remains unique and entertaining throughout.  The story is fast paced and never misses a beat (so try not to blink!).  If you haven’t seen it put it to the top of your Netflix queue!!