by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
Another piece of 80’s nostalgia gets an update as Ryan Gosling takes on the role of stuntman-detective, Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy.
Stuntman Colt Seavers is in love with his best friend, Jody Moreno, a camera operator who has been working with him on the set of the latest Tom Ryder action movie. However, after an unfortunate and debilitating accident, Colt is forced to leave stunt work and Jody behind. After eighteen months, Colt is called out of his forced retirement to work on the newest Tom Ryder action movie that Jody is now directing both as a stuntman and as the only person capable of solving the disappearance of a certain movie star.
Written by Drew Pearce based upon the television series created by Glen A. Larson, The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu, Teresa Palmer, and Winston Duke. The Fall Guy is directed by David Leitch.
David Leitch whose breakthrough movie was John Wick is an ex-stuntman turned director. In his career, he has made action-packed movies like Wick, Hobbes and Shaw, and most recently Bullet Train. Despite all these successes, The Fall Guy is the film that Leitch must have wanted to make. This film is Leitch’s love letter to stuntmen and action sequences.
With the level of stunt work increasing as the action genre does, there has been a small clamor for recognition of stunt work. In the movie, Leitch slyly addresses this clamor in a scene where a couple asks Colt if there is an Oscar for stunt work. Sadly, Colt shakes his head and sadly exclaims “no.” Leitch’s clever jab at the failure of the establishment to make a long-deserved acknowledgment of excellence to those who give their bodies for the sake of the creation of this media is perfectly timed and resonates loudly. Leitch’s stunt company, 87North, is prominently featured throughout the movie and a world record for a car roll is completed and celebrated in the movie. He has a deep affection for stunts and shows it off.
Speaking of love, the chemistry between Gosling and Blunt is palpable. This team-up of Academy Award nominees in competing films from last summer makes perfect sense and loads of fun. They are hilariously lovelorn and hopelessly committed to each other. Seeing their foibles and childish jabbing at each other is romantic comedy gold.
The supporting cast is just as fabulous. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is unusually comical as Tom Ryder, the self-absorbed actor who goes missing on set. Hannah Waddingham, the stunning, statuesque, golden-haired goddess from Ted Lasso is almost unrecognizable as Gail, the producer who hires Colt to find the missing star. It is a little disappointing that there is a karaoke scene in the film and the audience is deprived of hearing the vocal stylings of Waddingham but this misstep is easily overlooked because of everything else in the film.
Rated PG-13 for action and violence, drug content, and some strong language, The Fall Guy is a well-executed re-imagining of a fairly unmemorable television series from the early 80’s. Mostly focused on dramatic action in previous movies, Leitch shows that he can successfully deliver a family-friendly action comedy. There is a lot of joy in this film. The summer movie season has started!
Grade: A