There’s a joke in The Fall Guy that sucks so much it gets top billing here. If I put it in the body of the review, you’d think “Oh, that sucks a little.” But it doesn’t suck a little. It, in fact, sucks a lot. See, it’s right here at the top.
Someone walks into a room trashed by a fight and says “It’s like Amber and Johnny were just in here.” That line was written. That line was spoken on set. That line made it through the editing process. That line achieves nothing other than the suggestion that domestic violence is funny.
Now, I’m not going to explain why domestic violence isn’t funny. Because if we disagree there, it’s best we just part ways now. I have as much interest in another “We should be able to make jokes about anything we want!” argument as I have interest in watching Ricky Gervais whining from inside a packed auditorium during a “comedy” special carried by the biggest online streaming service about how he is being silenced. What I want to talk about – just a bit longer, I promise – is why one line in a 125-minute movie largely ruins it.
Imagine meeting someone at a party. You chat for a few hours and think “That seems like a nice person.” But then, just as you’re about to leave, they tell you that they think domestic violence is funny. That would make you re-evaluate the whole conversation, right? Again, presuming you’re someone who grasps basic human decency and empathy.
Outside of this glaringly awful aspect, The Fall Guy is pretty okay. It feels like a throwback to an era chockablock with pretty-okay, action-leaning romantic comedies. Think Romancing the Stone, only made by people who find domestic violence funny. Ryan Gosling has seemingly perfected dopey charisma, and the film essentially rides his rizz-mobile until the wheels come off. He and Emily Blunt don’t have “hot ‘n steamy” chemistry so much as “best buds who probably make out sometimes” magnetism that is equally acceptable.
Gosling is Colt Seavers, the stunt double for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the most famous action star in the world and an insufferable wang. Tom and his producer, Gail (Hannah Waddingham), insist Colt redo a big stunt because his face was too visible in the prior take. Colt goes splat, breaks his back, and then ghosts his girlfriend, Jody (Emily Blunt), essentially because he was embarrassed. A year and a half later, Gail convinces Colt to unretire by telling him that Jody, who is directing her first movie, has asked for him specifically.
Except she hasn’t. Gail is conning Colt because Tom has gone missing and she needs Colt to find him before the movie can’t continue. If this seems convoluted, that’s because it is very unnecessarily convoluted. Jody is shocked to find her ex on set, but both clearly are still in the kind of love that Taylor Swift sings about in some of her songs and not the kind of love that Taylor Swift sings about in most of her songs. A Taylor Swift song does actually play into the narrative here.
Anyway, Colt has to try and find Tom, save the movie, and win Jody back. For reasons that are essentially excuses, this involves drug-induced fights while wearing a neon trench coat and the most Miami Vice references since people stopped wearing suit jackets over T-shirts. Some of it is nearly wildly entertaining.
Director David Leitch used to be a stuntman, which is one of those facts that I swear gets repeated like someone trying to summon a stuntperson Beetlejuice. The fact that The Fall Guy is a sloppy, fire-covered kiss to those entertainers is totally understandable and well-deserved. Sadly, this is one of those kisses that goes on for an uncomfortably long period of time. Not unlike a fun and breezy film, a good smooch shouldn’t have you looking at your watch or thinking about how badly you have to pee. Or, and this is crucial, thinking about how some people believe domestic violence is funny.
The Fall Guy is also one of those movies where the small things work way better than the big things. The script pretzels itself to deliver like three momentous action sequences, but the film is at its best when Gosling and Blunt are flirting or he’s making dumb observations. His character is actually refreshing in the sense that he seems to be genuinely, overwhelmingly kind and completely immune to the kind of wall-punching testosterone you’d expect would fuel a stuntman. What’s sad – and I think you are going to guess where this is going – is that he seems like the exact kinda guy who wouldn’t find domestic violence funny.
Grade = C-
Other Critical Voices to Consider
Amelia Harvey at Nerdspin says “Much like Tropic Thunder and Babylon, The Fall Guy is at its best when being meta and self-referential. Although it frequently mocks the world of big-budget blockbusters, this movie always speaks fondly of the genre and those involved in the making of them.”
Prabhjot Bains at Range says “In a late scene, Jody derides her debut as “Just a stupid movie,” The Fall Guy wears that moniker as a badge of honor, transforming it into something beautifully stupid.”
Natasha Alvar at Cultured Vultures says “It’s a reminder of what two seasoned actors can create together onscreen even when the narrative isn’t exactly the strongest. I went into the film expecting an action movie, but I got a love story instead – no complaints there.”