"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang"

As comedies go, this is fantastic. Instead of going for the purile, gross-out humour of American Pie and that ilk of teen-comedies, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a higher calibre humour. Written by the man behind Lethal Weapon, Shane Black, the film manages to be laugh-out-loud funny and subtly humourous, as well as having a small dose of morality thrown in, complete with digs at the lives of the Hollywood rich and famous.

Unlike Black's other movies, there is less in the way of shooting action. Yes, there are guns, but nothing on the scale of the Lethal Weapon movies, which were very fond of huge explosions (and probably the inspiration for everything Jerry Bruckheimer has ever released). Dialogue plays a far more important part in this movie, with fewer visual jokes, and far more sarcasm! Both Downey Jr. and Kilmer have perfect timing with their traded jibes. As buddy-comedies go, this is a refreshing take on the formula Black essentially created.

The cast is superb. Robert Downey Jr., in particular, puts in a stellar performance as the mumbling, bumbling and ultimately hapless crook, Harry Lockhart, who also narrates the story in a bumbling, hapless, and disjointed way - at one point, halting the movie reel and rewinding to fill in a gap. Val Kilmer, as "Gay" Perry van Shrike, makes a great come-back to the big screen. Not that he's been away, just that he hasn't really been noticed by many people (hazards of playing Batman, I guess)... This role should help light a fire under his career again, and it is well deserved. The chemistry between the two leads is clearly excellent, and the jokes fly back thick and fast.

Harry's love interest, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), is a wannabe actress who has succumbed to the hazards of Hollywood life. She is also a childhood friend, and Harry keeps trying to save her from herself.

As plots go, this is a strange one, but far from indecipherable as some reviewers have described it. It's actually pretty straight forward, but there are no false pretences about the plot being essential - it's more something to keep the jokes tied together. The humour is zany at times, and there is no attempt to constrain themselves within the strictures of political correctness, making the movie all the more essential.

Harry stumbles into a movie audition, fleeing the cops after a bungled robbery in a toy store, he gets offered a part as a private investigator. They hire Gay Perry, a real PI, to train him up. The movie's producer isn't exactly kosher, and Harry keeps getting involved with dead bodies. His attempt to interrogate someone with Russian Roullette is one of the funniest scenes in cinema. Harry also makes it his mission to save Harmony.

I don't want to spoil any of this film, so I shall leave it here, encouraging you to go and see this - quite possibly the best comedy of this year, with star turns from all involved. A must see movie.