The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy is the perfect way to kick off the Summer movie season with exactly the sort of action spectacle audiences find themselves craving this time of year. Filled with humor and stunts galore, it's also an endearing love letter to the people who make this exact sort of spectacle we love so much. 

Eighteen months after a stunt gone wrong left Colt Seavers (played by Ryan Gosling) with a broken back, he walked away from his career as stuntman for movie star Tom Ryder (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and film business. This included his then girlfriend Jody Moreno (played by Emily Blunt), who was working on the same set as a camera operator. He is pulled back into it though when he receives a call from Tom's producer, Gail Meyer (played by Hannah Waddingham), stating she needs him to double for Tom again on his latest movie, the sci-fi epic Metalstorm. To further convince him she tells him it's Jody's directorial debut, Jody specifically requested Colt, and the success of the movie is on the line. It's only when he arrives on location in Sydney, Australia that he finds out the truth that Tom has vanished and Jody not only did not request him but is still mad at him for ghosting her after his accident. Gail tasks Colt with locating their missing star since Tom and Colt used to be close she figures he is their best shot at locating Tom, especially since they can't go to the police since Tom has gotten involved with some shady folks (as well as they don't want any negative publicity that may impact the movie). What seems like a simple enough task quickly spirals out of control as Colt has to dodge bad guys while keeping the movie going as well as trying to repair his relationship with Jody. With some help from his best friend, and stunt coordinator on the film, Dan Tucker (played by Winston Duke), he's going to have to do all he can to find Tom and save the movie.

The film was directed by David Leitch from a script by Drew Pearce. Prior to becoming a director, Leitch worked as a stuntman and stunt coordinator himself and that sort of insider knowledge permeates throughout the film. Some of the most fascinating elements of the film for me were them showing the dynamics between the members of the stunt team, what all went into creating the various stunts and how they pulled them off. Of course, any movie with this sort of plot is definitely going to bring it in terms of action sequences, which is pulls off fantastically, including a prolonged car chase through the streets of Sydney that was both thrilling and amusing in the way it escalated throughout, along with others I won't mention because I don't want to give away too much of the fun. This is balanced with plenty of well done humor and comedy, much of it coming from Colt as despite all his derring-do in the stunt world quickly finds himself in over his head when it comes to trying to find Tom. The cherry on top of the whole thing is the perfectly handled romance between Colt and Jody throughout the film. 

The film has a fantastic cast led by Ryan Gosling. He has really carved out a niche for himself in comedic roles such as this giving off plenty of charm and just enough goofiness to be endearing as his character repeatedly finds himself in over his head and manages to get by on his wits and experience as a stunt man. Emily Blunt is the perfect foil for his antics and has impeccable chemistry with Gosling that really sells their romance. But even more than that, I love how she plays her character and really captures how overwhelming it must be at times to be a first time director, especially on a huge science fiction epic where everyone is coming at her from all departments and having to make countless decisions. The combination of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt is fantastic though and honestly made the movie for me, from their flirtatious and at times spiky banter, the two of them play off one another perfectly. Another pairing I loved was Gosling and Wilson Duke, who gets pulled into Colt's adventures and the two have a fantastic rapport with each other and really sell the long time friendship of their characters, with their tendency to trade off movie quotes with one another ringing true for a movie geek like me. Hannah Waddingham is a delight as the put upon Gail Meyer, who is trying desperately to keep the movie afloat as she moves from one crisis to another, forever with a can of Diet Coke in hand. Stephanie Hsu has a fun role as Tom Ryder's assistant Alma Milan, who turns out to be critical in Colt finding Tom and also turns out to be surprisingly good in a crisis. Hsu handles the role with plenty of humor and easily steals her few scenes in the film. 

Overall, The Fall Guy was a blast from beginning to end and the perfect movie to kick off the summer movie season. As I was watching the movie, I was once again how much I missed movies like this. In a era where it seems like every blockbuster is shot against a green-screen and CGI'd to death, it's a real thrill to see a genuine and thrilling action spectacle with practical effects and incredible stunt work. On that note, make sure to stay for the credits as they play over actual footage of how they pulled off all the incredible stunts for the movie, showing the actual stunt team pulling them off too. The perfect cherry on top of this very fun movie.   

Challengers

Originally scheduled for release last September, Luca Guadagnino's latest film, Challengers, was delayed due to the SAG/AFTRA strikes and finally makes it's debut in theaters this week. So, the predominant question I had going into this movie was if it was going to have been worth the wait, especially after having seen the trailers for months by this point. I am relieved to say that it absolutely was. 

Tashi Duncan (played by Zendaya) was a promising Tennis prodigy when she suffered a career ending knee injury and instead turned to coaching Art Donaldson (played by Mike Faist), who is also her husband and father to their little daughter. Art is in a slump losing match after match and in an effort to try and get his confidence up, Tashi gets him in as a wild card at a Challenger match where he finds himself going up against his former friend Patrick Zweig (played by Josh O'Connor). When they were younger, Art and Patrick were best friends and competing together through the Tennis circuit when they both met Tashi. Equally enamored with her, both boys are vying for her attention when she visits their hotel room that night. As the years pass and each character reflects on their past in this unique love triangle it all leads to this critical match where all three find all their past choices coming to a head and discover if their friendship can even be salvaged. 

The film was directed by Luca Guadagnino from a script by Justin Kuritzkes. As I watched the film, I was increasingly glad I was seeing it in the theater where it would have my undivided attention since the film adopts a very non-linear timeline as it starts in the present and then has flashbacks to various other points in the three leads lives, back to the present and then another flashback. It's an effective way to tell the story as the interpersonal interactions with Tashi, Art and Patrick over the years are revealed. Guadagnino does a great job differentiating the different time periods and times with subtitles documenting the time period. It was initially challenging but soon I was able to settle into the unique groove of the film. When it comes to the tennis matches, Guadagnino and Director of Photography Sayombhu Mukdeeprom do a fantastic job of crafting tense and thrilling tennis matches, including the big match between Art and Patrick that runs through much out the film and builds to a genuinely tense climax. 

The three central performances in the film are quite strong. Zendaya gives some wonderful layers to Tashi Duncan, who is someone who had to reinvent herself after a career ending injury and find a new way forward in life when the one she thought she was going to have was snatched away. She gives a very compelling performance, capturing Tashi's intelligence and drive, but also her impulsiveness, especially when it comes to her relationships with Art and Patrick. Mike Faist tackles his role as Art quite well, conveying his character at various stages in his career, from young upstart to someone who is anxious to retire. He does a great job capturing Art's frustration when he gets into his slump especially, with the frustration that comes with it resonating really well with me. Josh O'Connor is equally compelling as Patrick, whose Tennis career hasn't turned out as well as Art's, barely scraping by and sleeping in his car when he has to travel to meets since he's not even able to afford a room at a dingy motel. This, of course, is what is driving him throughout the epic rematch with Art as the two work out years and years of feelings on the tennis court.  

I was really impressed with Challengers, with three compelling characters acted beautifully by three very talented actors making for some riveting drama that had my attention from beginning to end. It's also one that you need to watch without distractions due to the non-linear storytelling, but if you can keep up with it, it's a good one that I look forward to watching again.