Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

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

Director:

Shane Black

Writers:

Brett Halliday (novel), Shane Black (screen story)

Stars:

Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan

5 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...

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Plot Keywords:

actor | thief | private eye | screen test | dream girl | 

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Taglines:

Sex. Murder. Mystery. Welcome to the party.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [Belgium] Warner Bros. [Canada]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

L.A.P.I.

Filming Locations:

Monumental sculpture "Double Ascension" 1973 Herbert Bayer 505 South Flower St, Los Angeles, California USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$180,660, 23 October 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,243,756, 15 January 2006

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,569,469, 22 January 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the DVD commentary track, Robert Downey Jr. had one of Shane Black's assistants crouching off camera jabbing him in the kidneys during the torture scene.

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Goofs

The book that Harmony takes off the shelf at the party is entitled You Wouldn't Want to Live There by Joe Chester, a fictional detective novelist. When she opens the book to read it, the text at the top of the pages clearly states that the novel is Maureen Child's The Man Beneath the Uniform, a 2004 Silhouette romance novel.

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Quotes

Harry: Yeah, boo, hiss, I know. Look, I hate it too. In movies where the studio gets all paranoid about a downer ending so the guy shows up, he's magically alive on crutches, I hate that. I mean shit, why not bring them all back.
[Everyone who has been killed starts meandering into the hospital room, including Abraham Lincoln; a nurse shoos them all out again]
Harry: But the point is in this case, this time, it really happened. Perry, like, lived. Yeah, it's a dumb movie thing, but what do you want me to do, ...

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, Val Kilmer says not to leave; to stay and watch the credits; and if you're wondering who the Best Boy is, he's someone's nephew. (The actual Best Boy credit is Jack Bauer.)

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Connections

Features Santa Claus (1959)

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Soundtracks

I'VE GOT MY LOVE TO KEEP ME WARM
Written by Irving Berlin
Performed by Les Brown
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.
Under License from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Extremely funny film noir spoof

I saw this movie at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and expected it to be the typical film noir genre. This seemed to be the case for the first couple of minutes of narrative monologue before the jokes started coming fast and furious. This turned out to be a highly entertaining comedy/buddy film couched in a tongue in cheek film noir setting. The dialogue was witty and the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmour was great. Some of the jokes went by so fast that I'll have to see this movie again to see what I missed as I was still laughing at the previous one. The director spoke before the movie and commented on how the producers were nervous about the risky choice of actors. This was a reference to Robert Downey Jr.'s past addiction problems, but this film proved that he was worth the risk. I saw 10 films at this year's film festival and this one was my favorite.