Kilmer Goes 2 For 2

I really appreciate it when I leave a movie theater glad that I was there. DVD has become such an overwhelming, Ultimate Nullifier-type force that I rarely go out to the movies, preferring instead to watch them in the comfort and security of my home. I like to watch my movies in a place where I can be certain no one is going to talk incessantly, or rustle with illicit candy, or even just have an annoying laugh. And where I don't need to wear pants.

So, when I do go to a movie, I really need it to be a great one. I saw Jarhead last week, and it was good, but the movie I saw last night is the one that will stick with me. Jarhead was good, but Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is great.

The first thing you need to know about KKBB is that the plot is irrelevant. Now, I'm not just saying that because it makes no attempt to resolve itself or maintain consistancy, it actually just doesn't matter. This movie is all about watching two of North America's greatest currently living actors bounce snappy, clever dialogue off each other. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer are on f**king fire here.

You know how you'll watch a Val Kilmer movie sometimes, and you can almost see the contempt he feels for both the director and everyone else in the movie? Well in KKBB you can sometime catch a glimpse of the absolute glee he seems to have been feeling in making this movie. These two give razor-sharp performances that are hilarious, but never veer into caricature. And Kilmer, who also tore it up in Spartan, is absolutely mesmerizing as Gay Perry. It looks like he shed his notorious bad attitude along with the chub he's also dropped.

This movie has a story, but I'd have to draw a chart to try to explain it. And it still wouldn't make a lick of sense. It loosely folllows the outline of a dime-store detective novel, but all you really notice is Kilmer and Downey. They seem to almost egg each other on, and their interplay is riveting.

I'm buying this movie when it comes out on DVD, and I hope to god there's a commentary track on it, because I want to hear these two discuss the process they used, because the end product is, I think, the best buddy-movie of the past decade.

Yes, better than Tango & Cash. I know. That is f**king crazy. I know.

Oh, and best opening credits since Catch Me If You Can. Very slick.