The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy

Released May 3, 2024

Directed by David Leitch

Written by Drew Pearce

* No Spoilers *

When was the last time you saw a romantic action comedy that balanced all three genres with near perfection? I can’t remember but The Fall Guy just set a new bar for anyone who tries to pull it off again. This was the most fun I’ve had in a theatre in a long time and they really don’t make them like this anymore. The premise is simple, Ryan Gosling (Barbie) plays a stunt man who is down on his luck until he gets a gig working for Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), a director who happens to be his ex. Stunt filled hijinks ensue when he is tasked with locating the missing star of the film. 

Some action movies only have a plot to get to their next set piece. While that is partially true here, The Fall Guy’s story is incredibly fun on its own. It embraces it’s cheesiness, leaning into rom-com cliches and relishes in the ridiculousness. Seeing Ryan Gosling cry about lost love while listening to Taylor Swift in his car is just perfect. It sums up the unabashed and over-the-top romance that writer Drew Pearce (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) is going for. This is cheesy, wholesome, and earnest and I loved all of it. At no point does the movie take itself too seriously and it really shows, because the entire cast seems like they are having the time of their lives.

The Fall Guy is full of references and meta commentary on the movie industry, especially the hierarchy of a film set. From sleazy producers, pampered movie stars, visionary directors, and almost at the very bottom… the lowly stunt man. As the movie emphasizes, stunt performers take all the hits with none of the recognition. They are generally seen by audiences and even film producers as forgettable and replaceable. As a former stunt performer himself, director David Leitch is well aware of the respect they actually deserve. The Fall Guy shows stunt performers as the unsung heroes who rarely get any praise. They’re the ones who get knocked down, lit on fire, punched, and otherwise put in harms way hundreds of times only to give their thumbs up, get back up, and do it again. This is a love letter to all of those performers who rarely get the appreciation they deserve. A character even asks “Do they give Oscars for that?” and sadly the answer is no. The Academy and Hollywood don’t pay much respect to stunt work but hopefully this movie could change that.

David Leitch is no stranger to exciting action comedy and It’s great to see more of that after his excellent work in both John Wick and Bullet Train. He uses action sequences to create comedic moments while also pushing the characters and plot forward. Not only did he do each of these genres justice in isolation, they all serve each other with an unexpected synergy. Whether its the one shot opening scene or the insane car jumps and high altitude falls of the climax, every stunt and set piece is so well executed. Comedy is largely based on timing and it should come as no surprise that a stunt director would know a thing or two about that. I could breakdown every stunt but you should really just watch the movie yourself. Unless you have some irrational dislike for one of the actors or just having fun in general, I can’t see why you would not enjoy this.

Like Leitch’s other work the cinematography and use of dynamic light and colour is great. One of the most visually striking scenes is a drug induced fight inside a night club. Gosling is dressed in a neon yellow outfit with pyrotechnic flashes punctuating each slow motion punch or kick. It was short but a real feast for the eyes. Another great scene shows Gosling and Blunt speaking on the phone about split screen scenes as they are in a split screen scene themselves. They mirror each other’s actions and each half of the screen shows the film’s varied lighting and colour palette. Their banter and how it’a presented is another example of the synergy I am talking about. 

Whether it is the amazing action sequences or the surprisingly witty dialogue, the cast of incredibly charming actors is given tons to work with. That charm is no more apparent than with Ryan Gosling as the titular Fall Guy, Colt Seavers. Seavers is down on his luck and hopelessly in love. This could have felt pathetic if Gosling didn’t make the character so endearing. The romance plot might have been too desperate and cheesy with another actor, but Gosling plays this hopeless infatuation with a dopey and loveable quality that really works. I loved the comedic timing for the each of his exasperated reactions or expressions of frustration. Based on the montage during the end credits Gosling did quite a bit of the stunts on his own. He nails the action with a great balance of competence, cockiness, and goofy charisma. However, the stunt team of Troy Lindsay Brown, Justin Eaton, Logan Holladay, and Ben Jenkin obviously had to step in with the more dangerous scenes. I loved Gosling’s performance and his talent shines brightest amongst an already stellar cast.

Emily Blunt is co-lead with Gosling and plays Jody Moreno, a director who previously had a fleeting romance with Colt. I appreciated that both Blunt and Gosling captured a youthful naivety that made their relationship feel more like high school sweethearts than a serious and dramatic romance. Blunt gets her fair share of action but what I enjoyed most about her performance was how innocent and unpretentious she felt. At the same time she is confident, capable, and justifiably vengeful. Under the guise of a scene in her movie, Jody humiliates and berates Colt in front of the whole crew for being an emotionally immature jerk. It was like watching a toxic and very public couples therapy session. In keeping with the tone of the film it was still playful and light hearted.

(Side note: how great is it to see two of the main supporting characters from Oppenheimer and Barbie together in this movie. Barbenheimer lives on!!) 

The supporting cast is just as wonderful as our two leads. Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) is fantastic as an obnoxious and sleazy producer. She has a smiling condescension that fits so well with the her character’s exaggerated archetype. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) plays Tom Ryder, a Hollywood mega star who has made a career out of his action movies, despite not doing his own stunts. Taylor-Johnson plays a spoiled diva, with all the ridiculous quirks one would expect from the prototypical movie star. He even delivers a monologue with a southern cowboy accent that, whether intentional or not, sounded like a very accurate Matthew McConaughey impression. Winston Duke (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) is a joy, half of his lines are quotations from movies and he even yells out actor’s names as he is executing some of their signature moves in his action scenes. There is also a brief scene with Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and like everyone else she is a lot of fun.

For years the action comedy genre has been dominated by Marvel and I think we forgot how enjoyable a lighthearted popcorn movie is when it doesn’t require knowledge of a deeper interconnected universe. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it’s monopoly over the genre has saturated the market and left little room for other stories in a similar niche. The Fall Guy is refreshing but also nostalgic as it harkens back to an era of more original films that provided a wide audience with carefree enjoyment. Unlike other mediocre blockbusters, this isn’t just a jack of all trades. It excels on all fronts, and embraces it’s genre cliches to create an experience that is nothing short of unabashed fun. 

8/10 - The Fall Guy succeeds as a wholesome romance, a side splitting slapstick comedy, and a non-stop adrenaline filled action extravaganza. It would have been great if it accomplished even one of these as well as it did, but the fact that it does all three simultaneously is a feat to be applauded. Ryan Gosling continues to shine as the highlight of just about everything he is in. So just like Colt and the countless other stunt performers I have to give this a big thumbs up.