The Fall Guy
I’ve been saying for a long time now: stuntmen and stuntwomen should be given more credit than they are currently getting in Hollywood. These people literally risk their lives to get certain shots or action scenes, and it still baffles me that the Screen Actor Guild Awards are the only awards body that gives out the best stunt performance awards. I bring this up because The Fall Guy, which is the latest film from former stuntman turned director David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train), has a main character who is a stuntman and is given a chance to be the lead in an adventure of his own and save the day. It sounds like something that harkens back to an older era of action films (I have a feeling that if it were released many years ago, then it would have had Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role). It simultaneously feels nostalgic for the action genre, but it does feature a lot of modern-day commentary about issues with the film industry. It’s also just a very fun film to watch.
Loosely based on a 1980 TV series of the same name by Drew Pearce (who has written the screenplay for this film), The Fall Guy focuses on Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), a seasoned stunt performer who suffers a serious injury at the start of the film after a stunt goes wrong. We then jump forward eighteen months in the future to see Colt now living a reclusive life working as a valet. Colt is then roped back into the business when an ex-girlfriend of his, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), has upgraded from camerawoman to director of an upcoming space opera, MetalStorm (think Dune if it was directed by George Lucas around the prequel era instead of Denis Villeneuve). However, Colt is then propelled into an adventure of his own when the film’s lead star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor Johnson), goes missing and may actually be wrapped up in some shady conspiracy.
The Fall Guy is a film that will definitely appeal to cinephiles. There is a lot of meta-humour sprinkled throughout, but it also feels like a love letter for the action genre. David Leitch is the perfect filmmaker to tell this story given his former background as a stunt performer, and he stages some very exciting set pieces here that have an emphasis on practical stuntwork, which I always love to see. The CGI is a little dodgy in some parts, with it being heavily implemented during one sequence in particular that focuses on a car chase on a bridge. However, the unconvincing visual effects actually work quite well for some of the comedic moments like when we are given brief glimpses of the over-the-top science fiction film MetalStorm. It’s great to see a film that sheds light on the dedication and hard work that goes into making action films because, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, these performers are risking their lives to film these sequences.
Aside from the action, The Fall Guy also takes time to deliver some interesting commentary about the film industry. I wouldn’t call it ground-breaking, but it does explore certain topics that have become important points of discussion in Hollywood (especially over the last couple of months with actor strikes). As well as focusing on how stunt performers are not given the recognition they deserve, the film also looks at how there has been the implementation of deep-faking extras and the importance placed on which A-lister is starring in the film rather than focusing on improving the quality of the film. It doesn’t dive deep into exploring these topics, but they are effectively explored.
Throughout the years, we have seen Ryan Gosling portray many different roles, like the charming romantic lead in Crazy Stupid Love, the stoic and silent killing type in Drive, and someone whose job is just…beach in Barbie (for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor). This time he’s given a chance to be the lead in an action flick, and he brings so much suaveness and charisma to the role. I also found the chemistry between himself and Emily Blunt to be very sweet and endearing, and she also gave a very likeable performance. I understand this review may be a bit late, and it’s unfortunate to see that the film has not been the box office success that the studio was hoping it would be. I would encourage everyone to see it because it’s a lot of fun but also has something for people who love to talk about films or appreciate the action genre. SEÁN MORIARTY
Verdict: 4 out of 5
Hit Man
Hit Man is one of those films that could be a great vehicle for its lead actor to show off their range. I mention this because of the film’s set-up, which focuses on someone portraying various personas. We’ve seen it before with James McAvoy in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split or with Robert Downey Jr. in Park Chan Wook’s latest series, The Sympathiser, which both had talented lead actors playing different individuals more than convincingly. To pull this off effectively, it takes the right filmmaker to tell this story and the right actor to be selected for the lead role. In the case of Hit Man, we have director Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Bernie, Boyhood) and actor Glen Powell (Everybody Wants Some!!, Set It Up, and Top Gun: Maverick) attempting to deliver on the promise of the film’s intriguing premise. And I am happy to report that the film delivers. I think Linklater and Powell may have a “hit” on their hands with this one; I promise that this will be the only pun made in this review. Let’s move on.
The story for this film actually comes from a 2001 article published by American journalist Skip Hollandsworth about a man named Gary Johnson (played here by Glen Powell). By day, he works as a psychology and philosophy lecturer at the University of New Orleans. However, Johnson also has a side hustle where he works with the New Orleans Police Department by assisting with the technology during undercover sting operations. Things take a turn for the unexpected for Johnson when he is then put in the field to pose as a fake hitman for hire to catch individuals attempting to put a “hit” on someone. At first, he is apprehensive about taking part, but the more he partakes, the more he starts to enjoy performing in disguise as a variety of quirky characters while catching people out. But when he meets a client named Madison (Adria Arjona), who wants him to kill her abusive ex-husband Ray (Evan Holtzman), he begins to develop feelings for her and may be too immersed in his new character named “Ron” to back out or tell her the truth about who he is.
I have to start with Mr. Powell first because he gives a fantastic performance here, playing Gary Johnson. In the past, he has proven himself to be a competent leading man in the genre of romantic comedies, and it is very satisfying to see him be given this opportunity again with this film. He brings a lot of charisma to the part, but we also get to see more of his range as an actor when he plays the different characters that Johnson has created. He adds so much personality to each of them, and it is a tonne of fun to see him disappear into these roles when he is trying to convince others that he is a hitman for hire. It’s a very strong performance and one that I think will draw a lot more eyes to him, and he also demonstrates his talents as a writer here as he co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater.
Throughout his filmmaking career, Richard Linklater has dabbled in many different genres, but Hit Man reminded me a lot of one of his underrated gems, Bernie. This is not because that film was also based on an article by Hollandsworth, but because both films adopt a very light-hearted and comedic approach to some occasionally dark subject matter. In the case of Hit Man, it feels destined for “crowd-pleaser” status and has its fair share of laugh-out-loud moments, but it is also not shy about showing some grim moments. It’s consistently entertaining to watch, although I do think they could have shaved down a bit of the runtime. Additionally, the last scene of the film was a tad underwhelming. Nevertheless, this was still a lot of fun, and I predict a very bright future in store for Glen Powell. SEÁN MORIARTY
Verdict: 4 out of 5
Weird! The Al Yankovic Story
Musical biopics can be a mixed bag. Often, they can add little new information to their subject, or they can glance over important details and fall into the trappings of cliches. I, for one, am sick and tired of the countless stories about the band rising to success and then splitting up before coming back together to play in the final third-act gig, having been brought back together through the power of music and friendship (*ugh). So when I heard the news that there was a Weird Al Yankovic biopic in the works from the comedy production company Funny or Die, I was cautious. Then I heard the news that Daniel Radcliffe would be portraying the iconic parody songmaster, and it sounded like one of those casting choices that needed to be seen to be believed. Would this film perfectly capture the silliness and comedic stylings of Weird Al’s music? Well, in a stroke of genius, the filmmakers (writer-director Erik Appel and co-screenwriter Al Yankovic himself) have actually decided to make this a parody musical biopic film that matches the tone of the various parody songs that Al has made throughout his career. And it’s so funny. This film is so incredibly funny.
So the plot here (all fictional and made up, and none of this actually happened to Weird Al), Alfred Yankovic (played as a young boy by Richard Aaron Anderson, as a teenager by David Bloom, and as a man by Daniel Radcliffe while also having Diedrich Bader providing the voice-over narration), has dreams of becoming a parody singer-songwriter playing an accordion. This is much to the disapproval of his father, Nick (Toby Huss), who thinks the idea of changing the lyrics of an original song is both “confusing and evil.” He would much prefer if Al worked in the factory with him. But Al persists with his dream, and he discovers that he has a great ability to write parody songs on the spot. We see him achieve great success, develop a relationship with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood), and run into some issues with Pablo Escobar (Arturo Castro) and the cartel. I don’t recall coming across this part of Al’s life on his Wikipedia page.
The film embraces all of the expected tropes and conventions of the musical biopic genre, and it gleefully pokes fun at them. Its comedic and parody tone is made incredibly clear from the opening minutes, and the decision to make it a parody is genius because it’s perfectly aligned with Weird Al’s music. As for Daniel Radcliffe, while he doesn’t look that much like Al (and it’s clear that he is not doing any of the singing as well), it isn’t that much of an issue given the film’s silly tone. Since leaving the world of Harry Potter behind, I think Radcliffe has selected some very interesting and ambitious roles (I still think his performance in Swiss Army Man is his best to date), and with Weird!: The Al Yankovic Story, he proves his talent as a comedic actor. I can’t tell you about the other actors here because, much like Anchorman, the film has a lot of unexpected and hilarious cameos.
If you’re unfamiliar with Weird Al Yankovic’s music, then you’ll just think this film is straight-up weird. However, if, like me, you have a fond memory of listening to “Amish Paradise” or “Eat It” an unhealthy number of times on YouTube, then you’ll be pleasantly satisfied with what this film has to offer. I’ll admit that it does run a bit out of steam towards the end, but I did find myself laughing out loud consistently throughout the film’s runtime. I do wish we found out what they made in the factory, though (if you’ve seen the film, then you know what I am referring to). SEÁN MORIARTY
Cold Coffee Press 