A kiss, a bang, it's great

Shane Black must've been sick of being stuck behind the typewriter for nearly 20 years because he finally makes his directorial debut with "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang." Black, who debuted as the screenwriter of "Lethal Weapon" in 1987 (which resulted in three more Gibson/Glover pairings), stuck with the buddy comedy on "The Last Boy Scout" and even penned the schlocky "Last Action Hero," is still sticking to the buddy structure -- but this time with more bang for your buck. \nRobert Downey Jr. stars as our criminal protagonist and faithful narrator Harry Lockhart, a man who tried to rob a toy store, escaped from the cops by landing himself in a backdoor acting audition and ultimately winding up on the other side of the country in Los Angeles. He's got an acting coach named Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) who is really a detective and also really gay (hence the nickname). Perry is supposed to teach Harry the ropes of being a detective for his debut role but that all falls to pieces as a female corpse falls into a lake during a stake-out. Oh, and along the way Harry has also reunited with an old high school flame by the name of Harmony (Michelle Monaghan). Together they're all about to get wrapped up in one big murder mystery straight out of the pulp fiction rags. \nI can't really remember the last time I gave a damn about Downey or Kilmer, but I'm willing to start taking interest again. Downey is so bitingly sarcastic in both screen presence and narration that you might just crack a rib while laughing. Kilmer is about the biggest gay badass I've ever seen on the screen. The two have excellent chemistry together which is always the ultimate factor in the overly cliché buddy flick world. \nShane Black should've been directing films a decade ago. Black comedy, neo-noir and more are all thrown in the stylistic blender that is "Bang." The storyline is heavy in substance but it works. Maybe it took Black this long to realize the tired formula of "white guy who doesn't understand non-white guy" doesn't work anymore, therefore switching from ethnic diversity to sexual orientation. Yeah there are plenty of gay jokes, but they're more humorous than homophobic. \n"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," simply put, is the sleeper hit of 2005. The audience is out there for it, they probably just don't know it exists because of poor marketing and a not-so-wide release. But the film is here in town so stop reading, head over to the theater and throw down your $8. This flick deserves it.