The Fall Guy Review: What good is a romance story if it’s not epic

Ryan Gosling has an understated charm, unless he doesn’t want it to be, say in a movie like Crazy stupid love with his more obvious sexy energy. Despite being considered a hunk, Ryan’s real attraction has always been embodying characters you want to root for, characters that feel lived-in, believable and real. Whether it’s the single parent of The Nice guys or a dumb blond in Barbie, it’s his humanity which is most endearing underneath his Hollywood actor face.

It’s this quality that pulls you through The Fall Guy.

He is the one who makes you go ‘aaah’ at each fall he takes, each window he shoots out of, every punch to the face. When he tells you he’s in love with Emily Blunt's character Jody, you believe him. But before we get into that, what is the movie about?

The movie introduces us to Colt, a stunt double to Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Tom Ryder, who takes a back-breaking fall on a movie set. Post a break of 18 months where he isolates himself from everyone around him including Jody (Emily Blunt), a camerawoman on the same set and his girlfriend at the time, his previous producer Gail brings him back to work on the set of a new movie and gives him a side mission to find lead actor Tom who has gone missing. This movie is directed by none other than Jody, which gives Colt a chance to redeem himself, by not only being the stunt guy in her movie but also the hero of her real life. Action ensues and we get into the movie to find the circumstances behind Tom’s disappearance and if Colt can save the movie and his relationship with Jody. 

If not Ryan himself, it is this relationship between the 2 leads that sells the film for me. Emily and Ryan share an easy chemistry - It’s right there in the very first scene, as they have a flirtatious banter while he is getting ready for a stunt (more on that later). Their chemistry is more romantic than erotic, which makes you want them to be together. Even their first interaction after their big break up has a tenderness to it, despite her anger. These two people believe in each other even if they are in a fight. Her trusting him when he is framed for the murder of Henry, Tom Ryder’ s new stunt double’ and him holding out for Jody's dream despite his current predicament doesn’t feel clumsy or out of nowhere, it feels believable.

Labelled an action-comedy, the movie’s action feels more of a background to their rekindling romance than any real plot point for most of the film until the second half where it takes more screen time. The action, whether in the real movie or within Jody’s movie, helps add a grandiosity and aforementioned 'epic-ness' to their love story, whether it is the on-set fight in the mud or the last scene with the helicopter and airbags.

That’s what movies do right? They make the smallest look, kiss or conversation epic and larger than life.

Considering the movie is directed by David Leitch, himself a prior stunt double and director of movies such as John Wick (though he is uncredited for that one), Bullet Train and Deadpool 2, you can see the motivation for making a movie shining the spotlight on the unrecognized heroes of movies, the stunt doubles. That Colt is referred to, both by himself and other characters in the film, as ‘just’ a stunt guy, easily replaceable and unnoticed, all while putting himself in very real danger on and off-set, makes us root for him harder. His training as a stunt double to give a thumbs up irrespective of how hurt he is directly tied to his inability to accept the fragility of his own body is a connection I appreciate. At one point, a character explicitly asks Colt if there is an Oscar for stunt doubles and his pained no is a good reflection of the director’s own experiences and an ode to the nameless people behind some of the greatest hits we have seen.

The Fall Guy makes a deliberate attempt in bringing you inside its world, whether it is right in the beginning as we are introduced to each of the key characters while also getting acquainted with Jody and Colt’s dynamics and the process for a stunt, the world of film-making explored in their general vernacular (exposition, split screen, third act, buzz, you name it) and the very public, on-set drama that their breakup leads to.

In one particular scene, Jody repeatedly makes Colt perform dangerous fire stunts while giving him her movie’s plot which is a thinly veiled version of their own predicament. The entire scene - with the stunts, Ryan’s expressions and the film crew joining in on their argument is easily a standout. It makes for a world the audience feels a part of rather than a voyeur, and who doesn't want to be part of a larger-than-life movie set?

Annie for your thoughts (this is a section where I add some random observations) (Spoilers below):

1. Aaron Taylor Johnson as Tom Ryder is a fun addition to the film. He is quite believable in his self- obsessed, movie star persona (he moves markets after all!) and somehow a pretty good fit for Ryan’s on- screen version.

2. Am I the only one disappointed by the final version of Metal storm with Jason Momoa? He’s way too over-the-top and meta for me to digest.

3. At one point, Colt is reaching John Wick level of unbreakability. He does make you wince in pain with each hit he takes but come on man, you should be in a hospital by now. 

4. I actually watched the Director’s cut of this movie which I hadn't realized would be as fancy as it was. It did make me feel like a true 'film critic who is doing The Fall Guy review' with my big comfortable chair with automated controls and the overly buttered popcorn. 

5. Did I mention how charming Ryan Gosling is? Oh, okay.

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