Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) on Netflix
After a burglary goes wrong, Harry Lockhart is mistaken for an actor and sent to Los Angeles. There he meets childhood crush Harmony Faith Lane and detective Perry van Shrike.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.4/10251,419 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
Harry Lockhart is a thief who stumbles into an audition while fleeing a burglary in New York City. The casting director, Dabney Shaw, mistakes his remorse for method acting and arranges a screen test in Los Angeles. At a party there, Harry reunites with Harmony Faith Lane, a childhood friend who appears in beer commercials, and meets "Gay" Perry van Shrike, the private detective hired to coach him for the role. Harry falls for Harmony, and when she asks him to look into the death of her sister Jenna, he goes along with it, since she has taken him for a detective because of his connection to Perry.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Downey said the film "ended up being my calling card to Iron Man", as his performance got the interest of director Jon Favreau; Black was later brought in to co-write and direct the sequel Iron Man 3.
- Downey was cast because they liked his readings and knew he could fit into the small $15 million budget, his career having been in a downfall following his time in prison.
- The leading role, in a version of the film then retitled L.A.P.I., had been considered for Benicio del Toro, Hugh Grant and Johnny Knoxville.
- Black said the character was an attempt to break stereotypes, as he had never seen "the gay guy who kicks down the door, shoots everyone, and bails your ass out before".
- Black paid homage to Raymond Chandler by splitting the film into chapters named after Chandler's books: "Trouble Is My Business", "The Lady in the Lake", "The Little Sister", "The Simple Art of Murder", and for the epilogue "Farewell, My Lovely".
- Illustrator Robert McGinnis, whose detective book covers inspired the film's look, was brought in to draw the covers for the fictional Johnny Gossamer novels that appear in the film.
