It started at the Oscars. When Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt teamed up to present a salute to the stunt community at this year’s Academy Awards (an odd bit of promotion considering that no Oscar for stunt work currently exists and there’s no evidence of it coming on the horizon), their playful ribbing of each other over a supposed Barbenheimer rivalry (Gosling was nominated for Supporting Actor and Blunt for Supporting Actress for their roles in two of 2023’s most talked-about movies) sent immediate giggles running through the audience at the Dolby Theatre and those watching the ceremony at home. Their chemistry— more than any trailer— created a fair bit of hype and hope for what was to come with The Fall Guy, David Leitch’s action comedy that the pair were starring in and that was met with positive reception a mere two days later when it had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival.
Furthermore, what is this insane magnetism that Gosling possesses that makes even his appearance in a corny pre-film “turn off your cell phone” PSA genuinely charming and funny? It’s for that reason that Gosling is one of the only true— perhaps the only one, actually— movie stars in Hollywood today, possessing the pull both on and off screen to make watching his every move an intriguing exercise, whether it’s his appearance as a real-life version of Beavis from Beavis and Butt-Head on his most recent stint as host of Saturday Night Live (even dressing as the character again to walk the red carpet at The Fall Guy premiere) or his commitment to creating three cover versions of his song “I’m Just Ken” from last year’s Barbie (which he performed at the Oscars to rapturous enthusiasm), the actor who was off-screen between 2018 and 2022 has made a come-back in a big way.
Frankly, as entertaining as it is, The Fall Guy likely wouldn’t work half as well if it wasn’t such a showcase for Gosling’s talent both solo and as part of an ensemble. In the film, he plays Colt Seavers, a stunt performer who doubles for one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, really leaning into the douche-baggery of his character). An impressive long take that opens the film as Colt walks around the set of the current film he is working on succinctly establishes the skill and level-headedness requires to do his job, his personality— cool and confident— and that his crush on camera operator Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), who he flirts with over walkie-talkie (that crackling chemistry they exhibited at the Oscars instantly coming into play) as he prepares for another take. All of that is quickly tanked, however, after an accident prompts Colt to walk away from Hollywood, and Jody. Eighteen months later, however, he is called back into action by Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), Tom’s manipulative, Diet-Coke sipping producer. Jody is directing her first movie in Australia, a sci-fi love story called Metalstorm starring Tom, but Tom has taken up with some shady individuals and gone missing. Gail needs Colt to find Tom and get him back to set within 48 hours; that’s about how long she can keep the studio at bay before they find out he’s gone and pull the plug on the whole production. Colt reluctantly agrees, hoping that saving Jody’s movie will also help get him back into her good graces.
This investigative crime/comedy stretch of The Fall Guy is when the film is at its most fun. Leitch, a former stuntman himself whose previous directing credits include the first John Wick, intersperses just the right amount of hard-hitting practical action set-pieces between great physical comedy, visual sight gags (particularly a recurring one involving a unicorn), and humorous dialogue (from a screenplay by Drew Pearce, loosely inspired by the 80s television series of the same name starring Lee Majors). Is the reason why this aspect of the film works so well for me because it feels reminiscent of Gosling’s appearance in the great 2016 neo-noir buddy comedy The Nice Guys? Maybe, but its also a reminder of why Gosling is such a talented performer. In some regards, he’s a modern-day Cary Grant, subverting his cool guy exterior and debonair good looks for laughs; a medium shot of Colt, staring into the camera with eyebrow cocked, shaking an absurd amount of glass out of his hoodie following a fight, granted me one of my biggest laughs in a movie this year. But he shifts gears effortlessly when required. His yearning for Jody and desire to help her achieve her dream comes from a sincere and vulnerable place that grounds the movie amidst all its high-flying shenanigans; you can hear the pain and heart-break in his voice when it becomes soft, and see it in his face, with eyes that could be on the verge of tears.
It helps that he is surrounded by such talented actors in The Fall Guy as well. Winston Duke (who always deserves better, and you could say that of his role in this film as well) makes for a solid sparring partner as Colt’s friend, stunt coordinator Dan Tucker, who trades classic action movie quotes as fast as punches. Stephanie Hsu appears too briefly (but is still quite fun) as Tom’s stressed-out but ambitious personal assistant, and Waddingham seems to relish making Gail a real piece of work. A notable aspect of The Fall Guy is that it portrays a lot of women sitting in powerful positions usually held by men in Hollywood, and while Gail may not be the most sterling example, we especially see this with Jody, who may be a little in over her head but never shies away from maintaining control over her movie. Blunt is delightful, funny as she matches Gosling beat-for-beat while also dipping into the action star persona she’s honed over the last decade.
As, what Leitch himself called it, a love letter to stunt performers, which is something The Fall Guy positions itself as in its opening and closing montages, the film doesn’t fully hit during its middle, which outside of a couple references to stunt actors being the unsung heroes of the film industry doesn’t really do a whole lot to explore the physical and psychological corridors of that career (there’s also some timely critique of the dangers of deep fake technology that is sort of half-baked). But you could say that the breadth of action sequences throughout the film serve that unspoken purpose, and they are in abundance, from hand-to-hand combat to car chases to gun battles to setting men on fire to cannon rolls (which this film set a world record for during filming), paying subtle tribute to stunts of famous action movies past while existing as impressive pieces on their own. The sense of humor— Colt and Dan fighting over a rubber prop tomahawk while quoting The Last of the Mohicans— is balanced by a sense of reverence. Still, as amusing as the first three quarters of The Fall Guy is, it’s hard to escape the feeling that it’s losing steam in its over-long final act, becoming burdening by too much exposition (something that Colt calls out in a moment of self-awareness that doesn’t do the film any favors). That the film concludes not so much with fireworks as with a sputtering flame is disappointing, but when propelled by such high-wattage movie stardom, it’s a blast of a kick-off to the summer movie season.
The Fall Guy is now playing in theaters. Runtime: 126 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Katie at the Movies 