The Fall Guy: Been There, Done That

So, I went to see "The Fall Guy" a couple of days ago with some friends of mine. I'm not going to lie; it feels really, really nice to get away from college for a while, in part because the absence of coursework makes it a lot easier to go see new movies in the theaters so I can talk about them instead of something that's been streaming for a few months (or years). However, what doesn't feel quite as nice is going to see a whole lot of something I've seen done way too many times. Now, before you think that I hated "The Fall Guy," that is by no means the way I feel about it. The film has some strokes of editing genius, among them some really refreshing nods to screenwriting, as well as just being really well-edited in general, and it was a lot of fun to watch. However, it contained a formulaic plot that I have seen done so, so many times, with some new twists thrown in for the fun of it. And the saddest thing is that the aforementioned plot wasn't even about stuntmen, which was the selling point of the film. Anyways, let's get into this.

"The Fall Guy" follows... you know what? I can't remember their names. It follows Emily Blunt's character, a film director trying to make a science fiction epic, and Ryan Gosling's character, a stunt double for a world-famous actor who is trying to get back in the game following a devastating injury on the set of a film he was working on, an injury that may or may not have been an accident (gasp). Anyways, they used to be involved romantically before falling out, and the entire film is one big "will they, when will they?" that decides to throw in international espionage because...you know...Hollywood. After a lot of shooting and some betrayals that absolutely no one with an IQ below 50 would have seen coming, the movie ends with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt once again becoming romantically involved. And that is seriously pretty much the movie. Anyways, for what it is, it's fun. It's just not very much. It's "been there, done that," some more "been there, done that," and "been there, done that" for dessert.

To give the movie points, I will say that the chemistry between Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling carried this movie to the finish line. The romance between them isn't exactly the most creative or original touch, but it's fun to watch, and the acting was, as you can imagine for a movie starring Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, solid. It's clear that both actors did the best they could with the script they were given, and because they were fun to watch, this movie lands on its feet awkwardly but standing, nonetheless. On top of that, the movie does do some cool things like reach for more practical effects. It was refreshing to see a movie that wasn't a glorified cartoon. However, that said, this film still screams "summer blockbuster," and it knows that its audience is not going to be the most critical of its plot or its tropes, so it never tries to be great, and because it doesn't try, it isn't. I will be fair to the film and acknowledge that maybe there's a better story muddled by studio interference here somewhere, and the screenwriting aspect of the movie makes me wonder if this is sincerely the case, but I don't want to reach too far. The movie is definitely trying to please everyone, and because that's the case, it's really hard to hate. However, that also ensures that it wows nobody.

I think one lingering thought I've had about this movie is that it is a huge missed opportunity. There was a chance for the movie to tell a unique story, and for some reason, it decided to instead reach for a muddled, half-baked, familiar espionage plot thread with plot twists that are pretty easy to see through and predictable. How many times have we seen this done? Too many to count. And on the other hand, how many movies have we seen about the rigors of being a no-name stuntman in Hollywood? Where's the psychological and mental toll it takes on people who do it? Is the adrenaline addicting, perhaps? How do people react when things go wrong? How do they recover from injuries? Now, that would have been a heck of a movie, and it would have been completely in line with the established dynamics in the film. And we would have had the dynamic duo of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt to see this theoretical movie through. But on that note, despite the solid acting, the characters in this movie never really feel like real people, and that's the reason I never bothered looking up their names for this review. They're just Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling playing themselves, and the trope of killing any sense of disbelief by getting famous actors and actresses to pretty much play themselves is getting a little tired. However, this movie decided to do more of the same old, same old. And you know what? It is what it is. "The Fall Guy" isn't trying to be any kind of masterpiece. It isn't trying to do anything new. And it isn't trying to tell us an interesting story we haven't heard before. The sad thing is that it very easily could have. But instead, "The Fall Guy" plays it safe, (which is ironic for it being a movie about a stuntman), and for what it is, it's fun and relatively alright. Go see it if you're bored on a Saturday afternoon this summer.

The Fall Guy - 7/10

Ecclesiastes 11:3-4