Review: 'The Fall Guy' is a fun meta-homage to stunt performers, and a showcase for the onscreen chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt
Among the many ways director David Leitch’s fizzy action rom-com “The Fall Guy” pays tribute to the work of Hollywood’s stunt community is its very structure — by making something that’s intricately thought out in every detail look effortlessly tossed out there for our entertainment.
Verrrry loosely inspired by the ‘80s TV series starring Lee Majors, “The Fall Guy” centers on Colt Seavers (played by Ryan Gosling), a veteran stunt performer whose steady gig for the last six years has been as stunt double for one of Hollywood’s biggest and most arrogant stars, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
That ends when Colt is injured on a stunt — a long fall in a hotel foyer that Leitch seems to carry off in one unbroken take, with Gosling is doing the falling. However, as the movie teaches us later, the latest technology is “deep fakes,” in which the star’s head can be transposed onto the stunt performer’s body. It’s just the first of many examples of how screenwriter Drew Pearce (“Iron Man 3,” “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation”) anticipates everything we think we know about moviemaking — specifically, making an action blockbuster — and toys with those ideas.
Before his fall, Colt was well into a wonderfully romantic interlude with one of the film’s camera operators, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). After the fall, though, Colt withdraws from the industry, the world, and Jody — and 18 months later is parking cars at a Mexican restaurant in L.A.
Then Colt gets a call from Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), the hard-charging producer of Ryder’s films. Gail tells Colt she needs him to perform some stunts on Ryder’s current shoot, an action-packed science-fiction love story being filmed in Australia. Colt declines, until Gail tells him that the director is Jody, who specifically asked for him to work on her first film as a director.
Colt arrives, reteaming with stunt coordinator Dan Tucker (Winston Duke), and soon learns that Gail was lying — Jody didn’t know he was coming, and doesn’t want him on her set. Seems that Jody is still nursing some pain over their abrupt break-up. But before they can resolve those issues, Gail delivers Colt some disturbing news: Ryder has gone missing, and she needs Colt to find him before Jody and the studio find out.
This mission sets Colt off on a pursuit of the spoiled actor, and a line of clues — and, this being an action movie, a series of breakneck stunt pieces in which Colt (or, more accurately, Gosling’s stunt double) is shot at, punched, tossed around, dragged behind vehicles, thrown through windshields and put through other death-defying events.
Leitch (“Deadpool 2,” “Atomic Blonde,” “Bullet Train”) was a stunt man and stunt coordinator before he became a director, and it’s abundantly clear in this film how much he loves the stunt community and the crazy things they do for our entertainment. (Yes, there’s a none-too-subtle mention of how stunt performers don’t have a category at the Oscars.) He shows us the sweat and precision that goes into creating such stunts, without detracting from how fun they are to watch onscreen.
What burns even brighter than the movie’s pyrotechnics is the movie chemistry between Gosling and Blunt. We’ve had hints of their shared appeal recently, in their joint appearances on the Academy Awards and “Saturday Night Live.” Here, the combination is perfection, producing both comedic and romantic sparks. (To be fair, I’d love to see a rom-com starring the actors’ real-life spouses, Eva Mendes and John Krasinski, just to balance things.)
“The Fall Guy” works because the stars, like the action pieces, are giving their all without looking like they’re trying too hard. It’s as much a balancing act as any stunt in the movie, and the results are breathtaking.
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‘The Fall Guy’
★★★1/2
Opens Friday, May 3, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for action and violence, drug content and some strong language. Running time: 126 minutes.