The Fall Guy

A pure buttered popcorn rush of action, laughs and charisma, THE FALL GUY kicks off Summer 2024 in style.

Self aware & self deprecating, it's a clever tribute to the unsung stunt men that have elevated so many of the best films of all time.

But at its heart, it's a hilarious love story, perfectly led by Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Gosling (La La Land, Drive, First Man) narrates as stunt man Colt Seavers, double for the biggest (and dumbest) action movie star in the world, Tom Ryder. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (rumored to be the next 007 and wouldn't that be great!) plays Ryder as a man the camera loves, but not nearly as much as he loves himself. The film opens with an impossible long, single-take shot that weaves through a film crew on set of Ryder's latest, as Colt flirts with one of the camera operators, Jody Moreno (Blunt). It seamlessly follows Colt up and elevator, then out on a platform where he performs a death defying drop from the top floors.

Things go awry and Colt is badly hurt.

Flash forward 18 months to Colt working as a valet at a Mexican food restaurant in LA for low pay and all the burritos he can eat. He's completely isolated himself in a dumpy apartment post accident.

Ryder's producer Gail Meyer (a terrific Hannah Waddingham, "Ted Lasso") corrals Colt to fly to Australia immediately, saying Jody is directing her first film and needs him badly.

After one last valet pick up that gets your blood pumping, perfectly set to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck", Colt's off to Australia.

When he arrives, he's immediately put "back on the horse" for a dangerous car stunt by his long time friend & stunt coordinator Dan (Winston Duke, "Us" and "Black Panther"). The camaraderie between Gosling and Duke is laugh out loud funny.

In one of the most unexpected scenes in the film, Jody and Colt spar when she sees him on set. She grabs a megaphone and starts describing the plot of the film to him, which is clearly based on him disappearing from her life after the accident. It's a clever and remarkably hard scene to pull off, a blend of old school, screwball comedy, fast-patter dialogue, stunt pieces and even a bit of emotion weaved in. On paper, the scene must have looked impossible, but kudos to Gosling and Blunt for nailing the landing. They create characters you cheer for, something that seems a bit lacking at theaters as of late.

The fact that Jody's movie is a Mad Max/Dune/Cowboys & Aliens love story on a sandy planet, "Metalstorm", makes it even funnier. The film pops back and forth between showing the crew shooting the scenes and the final film as it will appear post CGI and it's a "Battlefield Earth"/"Road Warrior" train-wreck of great proportions.

Gail swoops in with her ever-present Diet Coke and tells Colt she brought him there because Tom Ryder is missing and if Colt can't find him, Jody's dream project will be shut down.

Everything that happens after that, I'll let you discover, but it was much different than what the trailers had me expecting. In a good way.

Smarter. More Meta. Much funnier than expected.

It's the first time I've ever found unicorns funny in a movie. You'll see why. LOL

The action scenes are fantastic, with former Stunt Coordinator, now Director David Leitch (Bullet Train, Deadpool 2) delivering a final, polished film within the film and plenty of enjoyable details showing how the stunts are pulled off as Colt and team execute them.

I'm a sucker for sweeping scenes with swooping helicopters, explosions, fast cars and flying bodies. Nirvana achieved.

As the movie glides from comedy to murder mystery to love story and back again, Gosling & Blunt navigate every twist and turn with ease. Here's hoping this isn't the last time these two are paired together for fun. Blunt and Gosling are flawless.

The pop and rock songs that are woven into the mix are perfect as well. Any film with AC/DC, Phil Collins and Taylor Swift as part of the fabric is doing some intelligent juggling.

Blake Shelton sings a new version of the 70's Lee Majors show theme song over the end credits. Stick through those credits to watch the stunts behind the stunts as well as some terrific cameos that have you leaving the theater with a smile on your face.

They've been trying to make a feature film of "The Six Million Dollar Man" for years. If the movie of that Lee Majors 70's TV hit is going to be half as fun as this one, somebody call Oscar Goldman and bring it to life!

Packed with fun and heart, THE FALL GUY crashes, punches and explodes its way to an A.