Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

In my Netflix account I have rated 948 movies. Some of my all time favorite (in no particular order)...
* Lost in Translation
* Shawshank Redemption
* The Rookie
* Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
* Empire Stikes Back
* Moulin Rouge
* American History X
* Bull Durham
* Munich
* Matrix
* Pulp Fiction

I now must Add to this list 2005's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Netflix's description (below) is at best nondescript. I added it to my queue simply because it was a movie I hadn't yet seen, that was available in HD-DVD, that at least sounded like I wouldn't hate it.

Petty thief Harry Lockart (Robert Downey Jr.) gets caught up in a murder investigation in this action-packed comedy. Posing as an actor, Harry heads to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds an authentic acting coach in detective Perry Van Shrike (Val Kilmer). But the bright lights of Hollywood fade when a murder takes place and Harry, Perry and Harry's high school dream girl (Michelle Monaghan) become part of the investigation.

I've had great affection for Val Kilmer ever since the summer of '85 and Real Genius. (available on Netflix instant play, btw) And Robert Downey Jr.. . . . his performance in Less Than Zero impacted me as a teenager and then as his life imitated his art, well, I've just always been rooting for him to make it.

In any case, this film, though not quite "arthouse" is certainly artistic in it's narrative style. It's quirky like Lost in Translation, though far less serious in its "message" (in fact I don't think you could ever say the film has a message). It feels a bit like Pulp Fiction might have felt had someone other than Tarrantino been at the helm. It's a movie whose narrative process is laugh-out-loud funny, a movie that compels you to watch all the credits just so you don't miss that little tidbit the filmaker might have thrown in at the end. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a movie critics either loved or hated, either found it inspired or contrived. I'd stop short of inspired (it's too predictable in some of its elements), but I would call it refreshing. An excellent vehicle for its two aging, almost has-been stars, and in the end, damn good storytelling.