Flipping Noir on Its Head

“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” a 2005 film directed by Shane Black and starring Robert Downey Jr. craftily exploits the film noir genre; making fun of its conventions as it uses the very same ideas it mocks to build an engaging and entertaining story. The movie, like any other noir film, has a slightly convoluted plot. It employs many of the devices that made my intro to film class scoff when we screened “Detour,” a ridiculous example of noir’s datedness as a genre. Voiceover narration, banter, flashback, cheesy chapter titles, classic crime caper music, and cigarettes litter the film. And yet, unlike some other noir movies, “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” still retains its credibility for a modern audience- in fact, judging from the amount of laughs, I think my class really loved it. What then separates this film from others like it?

To answer this question, a discussion on genre is necessary. Steve Neale, in his article, “Questions of Genre” defines the term genre as “a specific system of expectations which spectators bring with them into a film.” Neale’s definition makes sense enough- when we see a musical, we expect to hear the characters break into song; when we see a horror film, we expect to see unrealistic monsters ripping off cute blonde’s heads. Genre provides a system of recognition to the viewer so they can understand what is happening and so they have an idea of what will happen. Without genre, if a character spontaneously broke into song, people would begin to laugh at the screen, not understanding that the film was a musical. Neale argues that through the system that genre provides, the elements of film that are most appealing to the audience are those that “are least compatible with the cultural verisimilitude,” or in simpler terms, those that are unrealistic. He is not arguing for the effectiveness of unrealistic plot turns, like those in Detour, in which all the characters are seemingly connected and men die without cause, but for the magical elements of movies; the appearance of the monster; the first note of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Through the understanding of genre, audiences derive their greatest pleasures in the cinema.

This is not to say that all characteristics of genre films are appealing. Voiceover narration, as Robert McKee (played by Brian Cox) says in “Adaptation,” is “flaccid, sloppy writing. Any idiot can write a voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character.” While this is not always true, it could be argued that voiceover has been done so many times that it has little appeal to a modern audience. Yet, in “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” Downey’s narration is one of the best characteristics of the film. With his trademark wit and thorough self-criticism, Downey guides us through the story, all the while acknowledging not only his faults as a narrator, but the very fact that we are watching a film. This, like many other aspects of the film, acts as a sort of mocking praise of the genre conventions of noir films. It plays on our expectations in two ways; to create a comedic effect and to give pleasure to the viewer as one of Neale’s non-cultural verisimilitude compatible elements.

This device allows Downey, and the film, to really make fun of itself, which both delights the viewer and provides an excuse for the otherwise clichéd noir-ish plot. Do not let my use of the word “cliché” convince you that I did not enjoy “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” because it is rather the opposite. I love the way that the film mocks every notion of the genre film, be it from Harmony’s (Michelle Monahagan) obsession with cheesy Johnny Gossamer novels, to the strange interconnectedness of the characters that recalls the famous incest reveal at the end of “Chinatown.” Every notion of the classic noir lead is turned upside down with Downey’s turn as a fast-talking, somewhat idiotic thief who is by no means a Robert Mitchum. Downey’s character is like many other noir leads in that he is a victim of fate. From the start of the film he is thrown into a situation that takes him to the opposite end of the continent, only to eventually assume the role of a private detective in order to woo Harmony, the one that got away. However, Downey is by no means in control of the situation, and he spends most of the film being played by Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), a Hollywood private eye, or being controlled by Harmony. However, Downey still manages to maintain a sense of coolness throughout the role, showcased in scenes like the one pictured below, where he takes a drag of his cigarette while looking off screen, a classic noir shot. He spits out lines like "sorry sweetheart, you deserved better," a line that could have been uttered by any noir great in his heyday. Harmony, it could be argued is, like Downey, a classic noir character at times, and at others something very different. While she definitely, at times, represents the "damsel in distress," exemplified by her wearing of the skimpy santa outfit through much of the second half of the film, she is also very much in control of Downey's character, and she knows how to take care of herself, as she shows when she tells the police the wrong room number in the hotel. Val Kilmer plays the only character that is as tough of a guy as the likes of Mitchum or Brando, and yet he's gay. This defies the whole notion of noir detective in a very clever way. All these unexpected turns, as Neale argues, are the elements that combine to provide the audience with so much pleasure in viewing a movie such as this.

A final parallel between the film's treating of noir in a sort of backwards way is its use of the unexpected as comedy. A great example of this is the scene between Downey and Monahagan, in which Harmony passes out, only to have a spider crawl into her bra. While this is not original at all (everyone has experienced "there was a spider" once or twice), the fact that there actually was a spider makes a point about "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang." In the same way the film is comedic by actually having a spider present, yet still making fun of people who say "there was a spider," it makes fun of all the cliched conventions of noir, while still having them present. In this way, it comes off as less of a parody of the genre, but more of a weird, unique celebration of its most endearing qualities.