David Leitch directs Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Hannah Waddingham in this action romantic comedy inspired by the TV show where a stuntman solves mysteries.

Watched in a shopping mall multiplex in Istanbul… with an advertisement break in the middle of the movie. I’m gonna put my flag in the ground and say “Meta-Movies” started as a sub genre with Hudson Hawk. Met their giddy heights early with Scream and now we live in a land of self aware overkill thanks to Deadpool. Hudson Hawk had a running joke where Bruce Willis could never enjoy his coffee. The Fall Guy replicates that… is it a nod or an unconscious lift? Why does the blockbuster movie production that will make or break Blunt’s fledgling director’s career look so lame? Is that intentional? And why… when Gosling and Blunt clearly have such sizzling chemistry… are they kept apart for three whole set pieces in the middle act? The stand out ‘skip dragged by truck’ chase sequence is interrupted pointlessly by a karaoke crosscut AND has a randomly introduced character sitting where Blunt’s Jody should obviously be?! Did they not want the bigger star to be a damsel who needs rescuing? Was Blunt unable to take part in the slam bang for medical reasons? Did someone seriously think the karaoke gag aided the flow of the big kinetic spectacle? For the first 45 minutes The Fall Guy is near flawless bubblegum entertainment. Charming, funny, colourful, amazing practical stunts. But then it just kinda stays ON and becomes a bit forgettable, tiring. Third act problems are a running joke among the characters but that doesn’t excuse not nailing it during an incoherent destruction derby. Like many a starry May blockbuster of old it can never quite lives up to the trailer. The Fall Guy fulfils its brief (especially as a tribute to stunt teams) but I think we all would have preferred it if Gosling instead cashed in his Barbie bankability by trying to do a Nice Guys 2 with these stunts and this budget.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Nice Guys (2016)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

James DeMonaco directs Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey and Adelaide Kane in this sci-fi thriller where a family must defend their home against invaders on a night when even murder is legal.

An annual night of state sanctioned lawless violence. Masked attackers hunt and kill and torture anyone too poor to afford fortress home security. Beefs and unspoken animosities are settled with consequence free bloodletting. The “America” of Childish Gambino music video and Garland’s Civil War gets to let off some steam. People are snotty towards DeMonaco’s now long running Purge franchise but for me it delivers B-Movie thrills consistently and often imaginatively. The first entry starts small and cheekily takes full advantage of the negative space of an unlit dream home. Thrifty but nifty. The wider world we explore in the robust sequels and prequels is hinted at enough, the ground rules tantalisingly established. The main villain, Polite Purger, is a neato mix of Alex The Droog and Patrick Bateman. Take a bow, Rhys Wakefield. Hawke and Headey are always fine value, just that little touch more superior to the genre trash they often make. Straw Dogs meets John Carpenter meets class war fascism. And there’s a few surprises along the way. These flicks are richer, deeper and more inventive than they ever need to be.

8

Perfect Double Bill: The First Purge (2018)

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Matthew Patrick directs Gary Busey, Mimi Rogers and Michael McKean in this yuppie-in-peril thriller where a ‘just released from the asylum’ man child moves himself into a family’s dream home attic without permission and then into their lives.

A cheesy movie, unsure of what it wants to be. Mimi Rodgers involvement makes it an erotic thriller even if there’s only very PG softcore action. Busey’s trademark intense, unpredictable style means it is hard to pin down your feelings about his villain. We spend most of the movie in his shoes. You grow to love the hulking unhinged innocent. He spirals from manipulative nut job to unlikely E.T. substitute. I kinda dug the movie more when he was being a better Dad and protector to the family than McKean’s scuzzball. But eventually we are positioned into a big ‘psycho stalks the household’ finale. And while that shifts VHS rental units it feels like the least satisfying route the movie could have potentially taken. A curio.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Desperate Hours (1990)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Vittorio De Sica directs Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and Aldo Puglisi in this Italian romantic comedy charting the tumultuous long term relationship between a cad and his kept woman.

Really fun this. A decades spanning relationship told from both conflicting points of view. An enjoyable extreme melodramatic final act. Mastroianni’s mugging when the penny finally drops. Bellissimo!

8

Perfect Double Bill: Arabesque (1966)

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Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping directs Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, George MacKay and Aaron Heffernan in this erotic thriller where an East London drag performer starts dating their attacker months after a brutal homophobic attack.

Unpredictable suspense tale which adds a nice degree of integrity and complexity to the two leads. As much a morality tale as a brave attempt at true representation.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Pride (2014)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion directs Lulu Wilson, Kevin James and Joel McHale in this horror where a violent teen protects her family from some Neo-Nazi home invaders.

Ultraviolence. Outside the box casting. Heroic dogs. Doesn’t do anything wrong but never manages to build a head of steam. Just kinda happens.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Wrath Of Becky (2023)

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Tony Bill directs Marisa Tomei, Christian Slater and Rosie Perez in this romantic melodrama where a hard working waitress falls for the near-silent, possibly mentally ill, kitchen porter at her diner.

He thinks he has a baboon’s heart. He’s too dreamy for this world. He’ll stop the bad men from raping you, then break into your bedroom. The leads elevate this wodge of gritty fluff. It is wildly imbalanced – not sure if it wants to be a streetwise Mystic Pizza… or Love Story meets Awakenings. So star power drags it through kicking and screaming. Tomei (gorgeous) and Perez have a winning dynamic. Slater is also cast for his looks. And while it is hard not to swoon towards his renaissance man retard you do wonder why cast such a charismatic motormouth in a near dialogue free role. Wintery. Of its time. Still kinda cool. Sleepover VHS rental choice of the week.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Only You (1994)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Dev Patel directs himself, Sharlto Copley and Pitobash Tripathy in this Indian set action fantasy where a vengeance filled underdog works his way up a ladder of insidious corruption and kicks ass.

Blood soaked and almost permanently set on intense tight close ups. Should be right up my alley. A bit too repetitive by the bruising third act. The bare knuckle tournament subplot seems to have little to do with the main thrust.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Nobody (2021)

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Ken Loach directs Dave Turner, Ebla Mari and Claire Rodgerson in this British drama where a pub owner allows the new Syrian refugees in his area to use his failing business as a community space.

With Loach now retired, has this brand of socially informed cinema had its day? The Old Oak rarely feels made for the people affected by the issues it churns up. The push and pull of sentimentality and dystopia feels manipulative and didactic. The community theatre acting is woeful in the smaller roles… frequently dragging you out of the thin narrative. My heart is with the movie but my head feels divorced from it. Even the ultimate message that good deeds are ephemeral yet they might at least produce small (rare) echoes of decency in the futures of individuals is quite pessimistic. But also pragmatic…?

6

Perfect Double Bill: Sorry We Missed You (2019)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/