Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Director:

Shane Black

Writers (WGA):

Brett Halliday (novel) (in part)
Shane Black (screen story)
(more)

Release Date:

14 September 2005 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

SeX. MurdEr. MyStery. Welcome to the party.

Plot:

A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Gay | Actor | Thief | Murder

Awards:

4 wins & 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. June 4

10:00 PM

LOGO

Cast

Robert Downey Jr.	...	Harry Lockhart
Val Kilmer	...	Gay Perry
Michelle Monaghan	...	Harmony Faith Lane
Corbin Bernsen	...	Harlan Dexter
Dash Mihok	...	Mr. Frying Pan
Larry Miller	...	Dabney Shaw
Rockmond Dunbar	...	Mr. Fire
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Pink Hair Girl
Angela Lindvall	...	Flicka
Indio Falconer Downey	...	Harry Lockhart - Age 9
Ariel Winter	...	Harmony Faith Lane - Age 7
Duane Carnahan	...	Chainsaw Kid
Josh Richman	...	Richie
Martha Hackett	...	Pistol Woman
Nancy Fish	...	N.Y. Casting Woman
Bill McAdams Jr.	...	N.Y. Cop
Tanja Reichert	...	B-Movie Actress
Jake McKinnon	...	Creature
Stephanie Pearson	...	Harmony Faith Lane - Age 14
Christopher Gilman	...	Protocop (as Chris Gilman)
Brendan Fehily	...	Local News Reporter
David Newsom	...	Agent Type (as David Newsome)
Judie Aronson	...	Gift Bag Girl
Ali Hillis	...	Marleah
Wiley M. Pickett	...	Homicide Cop (as Wiley Pickett)
Joe Keyes	...	Lobby Cop
Bobby Tuttle	...	Hotel Concierge
Jake Eberle	...	Patrol Cop
Saida Pagan	...	News Anchor (as Saida Rodriguez-Pagan)
Lela Edgar	...	Party Girl
Daniel Browning Smith	...	Rubber Boy
Stevie	...	Pink Hair Girl's Dog
Teresa Herrera	...	Newswoman
Kathy Lamkin	...	Woman in Hospital Blues
Evan Parke	...	Dexter Clinic Guard
Vincent Laresca	...	Aurelio
Brian Simpson	...	Dexter Goon
Cole S. McKay	...	Dexter Goon (as Cole McKay)
Ben Bray	...	Dexter Goon
Harrison Young	...	Harmony's Dad
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joel Michaely	...	Eugene (credit only)
Jessica Anderson	...	Upscale Women (uncredited)
Richard Alan Brown	...	Harry Lockhart - Age 16 (uncredited)
Mary Castro	...	Model at Party (uncredited)
Justin A. Davis	...	Cool Guy at Party (uncredited)
Deanna Dozier	...	Kristin (uncredited)
Sebastian Feldman	...	Pool Party Guest (uncredited)
Laurence Fishburne	...	Bear in Genaros Beer Commercial (voice) (uncredited)
Richard Grieco	...	B-Movie Actor (uncredited)
Jaelin Palmer	...	Pie Eating Contest Kid (uncredited)
Cat Rowe	...	Pool Party Girl (uncredited)
Jasen Salvatore	...	Actor at Audition (uncredited)
Steve Somers	...	Young Harmony's Dad (uncredited)
Tom Willett	...	Abe Lincoln (uncredited)
Rachel Zeskind	...	Woman in Pool (uncredited)

Directed by
Shane Black

Writing credits (WGA)
Brett Halliday		(novel "Bodies Are Where You Find Them") (in part)
Shane Black		(screen story)
Shane Black		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jessica Alan	....	associate producer
Susan Downey	....	executive producer (as Susan Levin)
Carrie Morrow	....	co-producer
Steve Richards	....	executive producer
Joel Silver	....	producer

Original Music by
John Ottman

Cinematography by
Michael Barrett		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jim Page

Casting by
Mary Gail Artz
Barbara Cohen

Production Design by
Aaron Osborne

Art Direction by
Erin Cochran

Set Decoration by
Jeannie Gunn

Costume Design by
Christopher J. Kristoff

Makeup Department
Robin Black	....	special makeup effects artist
Wade Daily	....	key makeup artist: second unit
Scott H. Eddo	....	key makeup artist (as Scott Eddo)
Sean Flanigan	....	key hair stylist
Lee Joyner	....	special makeup effects artist (as Lee Goyner)
Ralis Kahn	....	special makeup effects artist
Jim Kail	....	makeup artist (as James R. Kail)
Michael Moore	....	key hair stylist: second unit
Nelly Recchia	....	special makeup effects artist
Francine Shermaine	....	hair stylist
Brenda Solomon	....	hair special effects
Cale Thomas	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Carrie Morrow	....	unit production manager
Scott Fort	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ty Arnold	....	first assistant director: second unit
Ty Arnold	....	second assistant director
Marco Black	....	first assistant director
Kurt Bryant	....	second unit director
Vernon Davidson	....	second second assistant director (as Vernon A. Davidson)
Steve Lonano	....	additional second second assistant director (as Stephen Lonano)
David Waters	....	second assistant director: second unit (as David 'Muddy' Waters)

Art Department
Mike Carrillo	....	property master (as Michael Carillo)
Danielle Clemenza	....	art department assistant
Robert Consing	....	storyboard artist
Larce Crawford	....	construction foreman
Joe Del Monte	....	construction coordinator
Gustavo R. Ferreyra	....	prop shop
Charlene 'Charli' Gerhardt	....	buyer
Robert Hale	....	head paint foreman
Mark Kusy	....	property assistant (as Mark S. Kusy)
Jason Lasser	....	set designer
William F. McLaughlin	....	property master: second unit (as William McLoughlin)
Charles Reyes	....	labor foreman (as Charles J. Reyes Jr.)
Buddy Ray Reynolds	....	assistant property master (as Buddy Ray Reynolds-Maichel)
Carisa Rosenthal	....	on-set dresser
Ron Sica	....	lead (as Ronald Sica)
Andy Swan	....	on-set dresser: second unit (as Andrew R. Swan)
Audrey Zaldumbide	....	graphics designer
Aileen Febles	....	art coordinator (uncredited)
Scott Kitchen	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Michele Munoz	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Jason Baldwin Stewart	....	assistant food stylist (uncredited)
David Tomeo	....	stand-by painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard Adrian	....	supervising sound editor
Christopher Alba	....	first assistant sound editor
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Brent Brewington	....	utility sound
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dave Campbell)
Michael C. Casper	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Mike Casper)
Valerie Davidson	....	supervising foley editor
William R. Dean	....	sound effects editor (as Bill Dean)
André Dias	....	dubbing editor
André Dias	....	dubbing mixer
Ezra Dweck	....	pre-dub mixer
Aleksandr Gruzdev	....	pre-dub mixer (as Alex Gruzdev)
Paul Hackner	....	dialogue editor
Mark Larry	....	supervising sound editor
Daniel J. Leahy	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dan Leahy)
Del Martin	....	digital engineer
David McRell	....	digital engineer
James Morioka	....	dialogue editor
Thomas J. O'Connell	....	adr mixer
Jason Piatt	....	foley mixer (as Jason Platt)
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer
Ken Strain	....	boom operator (as Kenneth Strain)
Stephen Tibbo	....	production sound mixer (as Stephen A. Tibbo)
Von Varga	....	utility sound
Ezra Dweck	....	additional sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Aleksandr Gruzdev	....	additional sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Eddie Kim	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Charles Cooley	....	key special effects
Ricky Farns	....	special effects senior technician
Timothy B. Graham	....	special effects
Mark Roberts	....	special effects technician
Tom Seymour	....	special effects technician (as Thomas Seymour)
J.D. Streett	....	special effects supervisor
Sandra Stewart	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Adam Avery	....	additional visual effects
Stephen Bender	....	additional visual effects
John Breslin	....	visual effects supervisor: Photon VFX
Dean Cranney	....	data management
Richard David Hall	....	digital compositor: Photon VFX (as Richard Hall)
Daniel Harvey	....	visual effects producer: Photon VFX
Josh Kent	....	digital compositor: Lola Visual Effects
Scott Kinsey	....	digital compositor: Lola Visual Effects
Adam Lisagor	....	visual effects coordinator: Lola Visual Effects
Michael Meagher	....	visual effects executive producer: Lola Visual Effects (as Tony Meagher)
Warwick Mellow	....	digital artist: Photon VFX
Damon Milman	....	digital artist: Photon VFX
Thomas Nittmann	....	visual effects producer: Lola Visual Effects
Kim Pearce	....	senior systems administrator
Cheryl Potter	....	visual effects editor: in-house
Murray Smallwood	....	digital artist: Photon VFX
Craig Stevenson	....	digital artist: Photon VFX
Colin Strause	....	3D technical supervisor: Lola Visual Effects
Greg Strause	....	visual effects supervisor: Lola Visual Effects
Edson Williams	....	visual effects supervisor: Lola Visual Effects
Martin Wiseman	....	digital effects producer: Photon VFX
Loeng Wong-Savun	....	Inferno artist: Lola Visual Effects
Yoshiya Yamada	....	3D artist: Lola Visual Effects
Craig Clarke	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Nicky Ladas	....	system administrator (uncredited)
Brian Nugent	....	compositor (uncredited)
Loren Robinson	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunts
Ted Barba	....	stunts
Ivan Bates	....	stunts
Robin Lynn Bonaccorsi	....	stunts (as Robin Bonaccorsi)
Chuck Borden	....	stunts
Brandy Bourdeaux	....	stunts
Kurt Bryant	....	stunt coordinator
Joe Bucaro III	....	stunts (as Joe Buccaro)
Annie Chasse	....	stunts
Brian Christensen	....	stunts
Edward Conna	....	stunts (as Eddie Conna)
Azalea Davila	....	stunts
Thomas Dewier	....	stunts
Deanna Dozier	....	stunts
Randy Hall	....	stunts
Tom Harper	....	stunts
Michael Haynes	....	stunts
Nicola C. Hindshaw	....	stunts (as Nicola Hindshaw)
Al Jones	....	stunts
Brett A. Jones	....	stunts (as Brett Jones)
Irving E. Lewis	....	stunts (as Irving Lewis)
Frank Lloyd	....	stunts
Ray Lykins	....	stunts
Brian Machleit	....	stunts
Carl Milinac	....	stunts
Michael Owen	....	stunts
Denney Pierce	....	stunts
J.P. Ruggerio	....	stunts
Jean Paul Ruggiero	....	stunts
Michael J. Sarna	....	stunts (as Mike Sarna)
Patrick J. Statham	....	stunts (as Pat Statham)
Tim Walkey	....	stunts (as Timmothy Walkey)
Garrett Warren	....	stunts
Michael Groneman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Brian Simpson	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John B. Aronson	....	director of photography: second unit (as John Aronson)
Paul C. Babin	....	camera operator: "a" camera (as Paul Babin)
Gregory S. Banta	....	assistant chief lighting technician: second unit
Jack Bauer	....	best boy
Jennifer Bell	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
John Bramley	....	still photographer
Doug Chartier	....	dolly grip
Pat Dames	....	key grip: second unit (as James P. Dames)
Eric M. Davis	....	lighting technician
Cameron Duncan	....	camera loader
Ron Edmonson	....	best boy grip: second unit
Craig Fikse	....	Steadicam operator (as Craig Fiske)
Craig Fikse	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Craig Fiske)
Christopher Franey	....	lighting technician
Cory Geryak	....	chief lighting technician
Nathaniel Goodman	....	camera operator: second unit
Jared Greenstein	....	rigging electrician
Joel Jaspan	....	dolly grip
Ronald A. Miller	....	rigging grip
Keith Morgan	....	set lighting technician (uncredited)
David Morton	....	chief lighting technician: second unit
David Morton	....	gaffer: second unit
Dale Myrand	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
C. Roy Nigra	....	dolly grip: second unit
Dara Norman	....	electrician
Craig Peiffer	....	key grip
David Richert	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Paul Santoni	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Mike Shaheen	....	24 frame video operator
Mick Spitalnick	....	grip (uncredited)
Robert Sterry	....	video assist operator
Larry Sushinski	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Neil Toussaint	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Michael D. Weldon	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Scott Whitbread	....	second assistant camera: first unit
Brian Woronec	....	rigging gaffer
Ryan Huston	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)
Kevin Tiesiera	....	set lighting technician (uncredited)
Joseph D. Urbanczyk	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
Scott Whitbread	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Animation Department
Gary Mau	....	animator: main title animation

Casting Department
Jennifer Bender	....	extras casting
Farrah Fox-Collis	....	casting associate
Mariann H.W. Lee	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Virginia Burton	....	costume supervisor
Bob Moore Jr.	....	set costumer (as Robert Moore)
Courtney Ormond	....	on-set costumer
Courtney Ormond	....	on-set costumer: second unit
Courtney Ormond	....	set costumer
Nancy Smytka	....	on-set costumer (as Nancy E. Smytka)
Douglas J. Stewart	....	textile artist (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Tony D'Amore	....	digital film colorist
Vince Filippone	....	first assistant editor
Lauren Giordano	....	editor: main titles
Keith Shaw	....	colorist: mastering
Jeff Smithwick	....	film timer (uncredited)
Devin Sterling	....	digital intermediate producer (uncredited)

Music Department
Andrea Datzman	....	additional orchestrator
Amanda Goodpaster	....	music editor
Bruce Harvey	....	conductor
John Ottman	....	music score producer
John Ottman	....	orchestrator
Randall Poster	....	music supervisor
Jeremy Raub	....	music editor
George Shaw	....	additional orchestrator
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer
Frank Macchia	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
David Sabee	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Morris Aroesti	....	driver
Troy Gould	....	transportation co-captain
David Travis Grieb	....	driver: cast
Guy Merrick	....	transportation co-captain
David Oppenheim	....	picture car coordinator
Jack Jay Reece	....	driver
Griff Ruggles	....	transportation coordinator
Ronald Stinton	....	transportation co-captain (as Ronald R. Stinton)
Alberto Coto	....	transportation (uncredited)
Shawn Coulter	....	transportation (uncredited)
L. Chip Crosby Jr.	....	additional driver (uncredited)
Charlie Ping	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Rachel Aberly	....	unit publicist
Jason Altieri	....	production assistant
Aaron Auch	....	assistant: Joel Silver
Sim Bajaj	....	assistant: Joel Silver
Robert Benavides Jr.	....	production assistant
Ardy Brent Carlson	....	production secretary (as Brent Carlson)
Kyle Cooper	....	title sequence: executive producer
Dominique Derrenger	....	second assistant accountant
Guin Dill	....	animal trainer
Ethan Erwin	....	assistant: Susan Levin
Scott Fort	....	production office coordinator (as R.S. Fort)
Charles W. Francis	....	production accountant
Kristi Frankenheimer	....	location manager
Kevin Goetz	....	commercial director
Michael Goetz	....	commercial director
Meghan Heritage	....	production assistant
Wendall Hinkle	....	assistant location manager (as Wendall S. Hinkle)
Brett Howard	....	assistant: Shane Black
Derek Hurd	....	craft service
J.D. Iriarte	....	assistant: Val Kilmer
Cati Jean	....	choreographer: goth party
David Kessler	....	set medic
Ryan Krayser	....	production assistant
Adam Kuhn	....	production associate
Josh Kuhn	....	key craft service
Kenneth LaFayette	....	first assistant accountant
T.J. Lewis	....	production assistant
Dan Magee	....	production assistant
Jay Mason	....	script supervisor
Paul McCloskey	....	assistant: Steve Richards
Haley McLane	....	script supervisor: second unit
Sarah Meyer	....	production assistant
Michael Moran	....	production assistant
Stephanie A. Purdy	....	animal trainer (as Stephanie Purdy)
Jimmy Rich	....	assistant: Robert Downey Jr.
Jacob Riehle	....	production assistant
Anthony Roza	....	production assistant (as Tony Roza)
Janell M. Sammelman	....	production assistant (as Janell Sammelman)
Eva M. Schroeder	....	key assistant location manager
Stephen Schuster	....	title designer: Prologue
Asa Shumskas-Tait	....	production assistant
Todd Spears	....	payroll accountant
Andre C. Verderame	....	production assistant: Val Kilmer (as Andre Verderame)
Samir Vural	....	production assistant
Wesley Walker	....	production assistant
Anne Marie Wilson	....	production assistant
Danny Yount	....	title designer
Andrew Zilch	....	assistant production office coordinator
Paul D. Boydston	....	location manager (uncredited)
Ardy Brent Carlson	....	production coordinator: re-shoots (uncredited)
Rob Gomes	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)
Kory Kruckenberg	....	assistant engineer: scoring (uncredited)
Mathew Lorenceau	....	photo double: Robert Downey Jr. (uncredited)
Ann Shimabukuro	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)
Michael Ryan Sikov	....	assistant to executive producer (uncredited)
Steve Solomon	....	animal trainer (uncredited)
Daniel Veluzat	....	location liaison (uncredited)

Thanks
Michael A. Simpson	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Silver Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Baltic Film (2006) (Latvia) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Karo Premiere (2006) (Armenia) (theatrical)
• Karo Premiere (2006) (Belarus) (theatrical)
• Karo Premiere (2006) (Kazakhstan) (theatrical)
• Karo Premiere (2006) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Sam Film (2005) (Iceland) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome International (2005) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome International (2005) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Norge (2005) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Tuck (2005-2006) (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures Russia (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Village Roadshow Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Ireland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (2005) (Greece) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2005) (India) (all media)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Argentina) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)

Special Effects

• Lola Visual Effects
• Photon VFX (visual effects and animation: beer commercial)

Other Companies

• Absolute Hollywood  special thanks
• BeBee  night lights
• Center Staging  special thanks
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Danetracks  sound editing and design
• Danetracks  sound post-production
• Echo Post  AVID media composer
• Film & Video Stock Shots  footage provided by
• Getty Images  footage provided by
• Global Effects  special thanks
• Hollywood Fires  special thanks
• J.L. Fisher  camera cranes and dollies
• Joe Dugan Studio Rentals  special thanks
• K.N.B. Effects Group  special thanks (as KNG Effects)
• La-La Land Records  soundtrack released by
• Movie Motion  special thanks
• Panavision Remote Systems  remote cranes and heads
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Paws for Effect  animals by
• Prologue Films  main and end titles designed and produced by (as Prologue)
• Sonoton Recorded Music  music
• Studio Services  special thanks
• Technicolor Creative Services  digital color correction
• Technicolor Creative Services  electronic dailies
• Technicolor  color
• UFO Cranes  special thanks
• William F. White  grip and electric package (as William F. White)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity

Runtime:

103 min | USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:15A | Belgium:KT | Netherlands:16 | Canada:14A | Brazil:16 | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | Greece:K-17 | Philippines:R-13 | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #41234) | Germany:12 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:18SG (DVD) | New Zealand:R16 | Italy:VM14 | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The film's original title was "You'll Never Die in This Town Again".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Perry and Harry are on the rooftop having an argument, Perry puts his hand across his mouth to shut Harry up with his right hand. The next shot centering on Harry has Perry's left hand on Harry's mouth, and the shot after that returns to having Perry's right hand on Harry's mouth.

Quotes:

Harry:Do you think I'm stupid?
Perry:I don't think you'd know where to put food at, if you didn't flap your mouth so much. Yes I think you're stupid.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Yes Man (2008)

Soundtrack:

SILVER SCREEN (SHOWER SCENE)

My kind of dark comedy.

The term "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" was first coined in the 1960s by the Japanese press as a nickname for James Bond. Director Shane Black loved the term and chose it as the movie's title because, "it so clearly represented what this film is." And what exactly is this film? Good question. For starters, it's original. It's a nice change of pace from all of the sequels and remakes we've been inundated with recently. I needed this breath of fresh air after being blind-sided by the news that a remake of Robocop might be on its way.

It's also funny and action-packed. The pace comes at us almost as quickly as the clever dialogue, making it nearly impossible for the average viewer to get bored. You may be offended, you may not appreciate the dark humor, and you may not get the style, but I would predict the majority of you won't get bored. Will I refund your ticket money if you *do* get bored? No, absolutely not. Don't be silly. I'll just say, "Oh well, I guess you're just in the minority on this one!" What I like most about Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is it's so hard to "genre-lize." See what I did there? Add that term to the Movie Mark Dictionary. When you can't "genre-lize" something then you can't easily force it into any one specific genre. Clever, huh? That's what makes Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang so fun. Is there action? Yes! After all, it's by the same guy who wrote the Lethal Weapon movies. But it's not an action movie.

Is there humor? Indeed. The laughs mostly come from the chemistry between Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. and some of the crazy situations they find themselves in. This is my kind of dark humor. I love to be caught off guard by unexpected moments that make me laugh at things that might not be so funny if they were witnessed in the real world. But this isn't a comedy. The humor is never forced and doesn't have to resort to slapstick or flatulent puppies just to get cheap laughs. Sure, there's a scene that involves peeing on a corpse, but it has to be seen in its context to be appreciated.

If I were forced to affix a label to this then I suppose I'd say it's a darkly comedic murder mystery. It takes itself just seriously enough to keep you in suspense, but it's irreverent enough to simply be fun and entertaining. It works well enough as a farce without ever coming off as a pure parody.

My main complaint is that the story does get a little too confusing. I admit that I openly mocked other reviews that called the story "needlessly complex," but now that I have seen it I totally understand what these reviews are talking about. You'll want to pay careful attention or you'll get lost pretty quickly. I'd even suggest taking notes. If you're not careful you'll become so immersed with keeping up with the rapid-fire dialogue that you could lose focus on the plot details. It's not mind-blowing, but there are just so many characters and minutiae to keep up with that it's easy to lose track of what exactly is going on. If your friends call you "ol' goldfish attention span" then you could be in trouble.

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that this movie is for everybody. The language gets pretty rough, there is strong sexual content, Val Kilmer is a detective who just happens to be gay and jokes are made at his expense, there's a decent amount of gunplay, and some people just might not appreciate the unconventionality on display.

But I loved the fact that this wasn't formulaic and that the look and style was different than the norm. Black admits to de-saturating the colors in post-production to give the film a crude, rough look. Perhaps some might like their movies a little more bright, but I thought it was quite effective at giving the film the pulp detective story vibe that Black was going for.

I wouldn't recommend this to my mother, so I won't pretend to know whether this fits *your* taste either. It all depends on how you view these kinds of things. Is it gratuitous or knowingly over-the-top? Clever or too clever for its own good? Cheesy or comfortable in its self-awareness? Ask yourself what it takes to offend your senses and let that be your guide.