One of the worst movie sins is when a comedy fails to at least match the natural charisma of its stars. Not all actors are capable of being effortlessly funny without a tight script and some excellent direction and editing. But Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, at least from a distance, seem to be masters of that game. Just look at his flashy press tour for “The Fall Guy.” Their banter is the kind that can be a little worrisome – what if their conversation was better than the movie?
Then again, it’s a great relief that “The Fall Guy” lives up to its promise. There’s a delightful mix of action, comedy and romance that will make audiences feel like Hollywood insiders for a few hours.
Based on the 1980s Lee Majors television series about a stuntman who made some extra money on the side bounty hunting, Gosling took on the mantle of said stuntman, Colt Sievers.
Colt is a workaday stunt performer and longtime favorite of a major movie star, Tom Ryder. Tom is the kind of extremely cocky and self-conscious A-lister who tells everyone he does his own stunts and worries loudly that Colt’s jawline is softer than his. I think the word “potato” is used as a descriptor. Taylor-Johnson has a lot of fun playing all her eccentricities that you expect and fear, inspired at least in part by real horror stories of stars’ bad behavior.
The film comes from director David Leitch, the Brad Pitt stuntman and stunt coordinator who helped bring “John Wick” to the world and directed “Atomic Blonde” and “Bullet Train.” He is a man who not only has the vision and know-how to bring out the best stunts in films and make them pop, but also has a vested interest in bringing them into the limelight. Forget the Oscars, how about any acknowledgment? Perhaps “The Fall Guy” is a small step toward making audiences more aware of some of the people behind the scenes who actually make movies better and risk everything to do so.
It is revealed that the film begins with Colt suffering a horrific injury on set. The stunt that goes wrong is one he’s just performed and he doesn’t seem the least bit nervous about it. The film cuts to his recovery and semi-reclusive retirement, until he receives a call from Tom’s producer Gail, who urges Colt to come back for a new film. She pleads that they need her, as well as her longtime crush Jody, who is making her directorial debut. She waits to inform him that Tom is missing and it is up to him to find him. In the search, Colt encounters tough goons, supporters, a sword-wielding actress, and a dead body on the ice, leading to something big and rotten. And like a selfless stuntman, he does it all out of Jodie’s sight – doing her best to save her movie without giving her anything extra to worry about. There’s nothing particularly commendable about it, but it’s not hard to be along for the ride, and much of that is because of Gosling.
While she’s not underappreciated for her comedic timing, especially after “Barbie,” it’s fun to see her genuinely embrace and lean into goofiness — whether it’s crying and singing along to Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” or To quote lines from the movie, his stunt coordinator friend in the middle of an actual fight.
There’s something very teen and sweet about Jodie and Colt’s will-they-won’t-they romance, which involves attraction, banter, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings. Casting these two opposite each other was a brilliant move and makes you want more scenes with these two.
Working from a script by Drew Pearce, Leitch filled the film with wall-to-wall action both on the film set and in its real world. And with self-referential humor, industry jokes, and the promise of a little romance, it looks like it’s going to be one of those movies we all complain they don’t make anymore.
Universal Picture’s release of “The Fall Guy” in theaters Friday is given a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America for “action and violence, drug content and some strong language.” Running time: 126 minutes. Three out of four stars.
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