Laughing Out Loud

I was thrilled last night. When I watch Hollywood movies, the most I hope for is a moment or two which makes me chuckle and maybe some good cinematography. I rarely expect to laugh. But last night, I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and, had I been drinking, I would have sprayed my living room several times. I think the actors even surprised themselves. A second view would prove it funnier. Robert Downey Jr plays a terrific thief-turned-actor and Val Kilmer (who has never impressed me) plays a terrific gay detective. And, this morning, I woke up still thinking about what a surprisingly good movie it was when it dawned on me that the last time I felt this way was after seeing Who Is Cletis Tout? with Christian Slater and Portia De Rossi and, believe it or not, Tim Allen (who was an excellent hit man/movie lover). Both movies have a theme about magic, both move at a rapid, witty pace and have similar sharp humor, so, thinking I was the lone viewer/discoverer I deduced that I had hit upon the same director twice.

I was wrong. They are just two similar, well-written, cleverly-plotted and, most-significantly, overlooked movies well worth a watch. Kiss Kiss (2005) is directed by Shane Black and Cletis Tout (2001) is directed by Chris Ver Wiel (the latter is a movie-lover's-movie and independent of Hollywood, I believe). Do check them out: here's a link to the Internet Movie Database.