71: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Alonso Duralde

Our 2000s Holiday Noir miniseries kicks off with a film that helped relaunch Robert Downey Jr.’s career and reintroduced Shane Black to a new generation: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Phil and Emily are joined by film critic and historian Alonso Duralde to unpack why this meta-crime-comedy still feels like lightning in a bottle.

The trio digs into the movie’s razor-sharp script, its chaotic but affectionate relationship to noir, and the way Shane Black balances darkness with a wink. They explore Michelle Monaghan’s standout performance, Val Kilmer’s iconic turn as Gay Perry, and what made this moment in RDJ’s career so precarious and so thrilling.

They also dive into the film’s tone-shifting structure, its overplotted charm, its self-aware narration, and why the movie’s emotional core sneaks up on you. Along the way, they talk Shane Black’s imitators, the difficulty of pulling off postmodern genre homage, and how this film manages to love the very tropes it skewers.

Whether Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has been a long-time favorite or a movie you somehow missed, this episode revisits the 2005 cult classic with fresh eyes, big laughs, and a deep appreciation for what makes it so deceptively tricky and so rewatchable.

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