The Fall Guy

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

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David Leitch (“Bullet Train”) delivers an entertaining hit with “The Fall Guy.” Chock full of thrilling stunts that are as riveting as they are quirky, this film is a joy from start to finish. It is pure entertainment.

Ryan Gosling is a rumpled, but dreamy eyed, stuntman named Colt who has a struggling love relationship with film director Jody (Emily Blunt). Colt is down on his luck, only recently recuperated from a film accident in which he broke his back. Colt returns to work but is uncertain whether Jody wants him. The two trade remarks like a vaudeville team. Jody is sarcastic while Colt is self-deprecating. When the film’s star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) disappears from the set, Colt is hired by the pathologically dominant film producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) to find the actor.

The one liners never stop. Both Gosling and Blunt have terrific comic repartee. Blunt has never been better, while Gosling sparkles across the screen with absolute comical charisma. Not since Indiana Jones or “The Blues Brothers” has so much action exploded upon the screen. This film is both an homage and a spoof of action films and as it is peppered by snappy dialogue; it delights.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson delivers a perfect impression of Matthew McConaughey. This is a Hollywood send up with a smile. The film is far more effective in its comedy than “The Lost City” with laughs that are more energetic and pointed. This is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it delivers its fun with heart and wonderful humor.

The film has a nostalgic tone of the 1980s and 90s in the best manner possible by being truly silly without being boorish or cloying. This is a great popcorn film with action that is genuinely entertaining while the dialogue is amazingly absurdist and marvelously madcap in a very real and spirited way with several honest laugh out loud, giggle-wheezing moments.

Write Ian at ianfree11@yahoo.com