The Fall Guy is an action comedy film and a love letter to the unsung heroes of filmmaking, stunt performers. The movie is directed by David Leitch, who is best known for his work on Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, and Bullet Train. Although not credited, Leitch also co-directed the action hit John Wick where he also holds a producer’s credit. Before finding himself behind the camera, Leitch made a career as a stunt performer himself, working as Brad Pitt’s double on five films. The Fall Guy is loosely adapted from the 1980s TV series of the same name which follows Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who is a bounty hunter by night. In the film, Ryan Gosling is Colt, although in this adaptation the stuntman is unwittingly thrust into a criminal conspiracy and must rise to become the action hero he plays on screen. 

After a devastating accident on set that results in a broken back, Colt retires from stunt performing entirely. Humiliated and frightened by his close brush with death, he goes into hiding to the dismay of camera operator and love interest, Jody Moreno, played by Emily Blunt. Eighteen months later and Jody is in the middle of filming her directorial debut, when their lead actor Tom Ryder disappears without a trace. Producer Gail Meyer convinces Colt to return to stunt performing and asks him to assist in finding Tom before the studio shuts down production. Colt, desperate to win a hurt and abandoned Jody back, must find Tom and save her big break from being canceled. During his quest to uncover the truth, Colt finds himself implicated in a crime and must outrun both the cops and those responsible for Tom’s disappearance. 

Ryan Gosling is the undeniable life force of this movie. It is a classic Gosling performance in the best way possible. His sense of physical comedy is present in the fight sequences and adds some much needed humor to otherwise bland choreography. His comedic timing is unmatched by anyone else in the film and it is a testament to his fearlessness as a performer, delivering each of his one liners like he’s not fully in on the joke. Few other actors commit to looking this ridiculous on screen and it is endlessly entertaining to watch Gosling in action. The camera simply loves him. Shortly after Colt arrives on set, Jody and him have a very public argument that ends with Colt sitting alone in his car. He turns on the radio and Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” blasts from the car stereo, cue the silly yet sincere tears from Gosling. This scene will be permanently etched into my memory, and a perfect example of what makes him appealing as a performer. It is that sharp sense of humor combined with real heart and earnestness that elevates an otherwise cliche and half baked script. 

I love movies and I love movies about movies. It is clear that Leitch feels the same way as someone who has been fully immersed in all aspects of the industry for several decades. That being said, movies about filmmaking sometimes have a tendency to be too self indulgent or self referential. The Fall Guy suffers from this. The script is jam packed with inside jokes about filmmaking that I’m not sure the average audience member finds humor in or frankly cares about. There’s a narcissistic lead actor who makes his insecurities everyone else’s problem. There’s an assistant who’s willing to sacrifice her boss’s safety for a producer’s credit. A director creating some incoherent sci-fi mess without a completed script and a team of yes men trying to convince her she’s making film history. Of course there’s also the callous and egotistical producer who goes from petty tyrant to actual criminal. The script spins in circles trying to make any of these characters feel believable with real motivations, only somewhat succeeding with Gosling and Blunt’s characters, but most feel like a one note industry joke that goes on far too long. 

It is also the fact that at times, the characters appear to be partially aware that they are making a movie within a movie. At its worst, there’s a scene between Jody and Colt where they workshop the script’s last act over the phone. The relationship within the sci-fi film is written by Blunt’s character and intended to mirror her relationship with Colt, that works for me. However, when they are discussing the effectiveness of having a “split screen” conversation to show the emotional distance between the leads, The Fall Guy introduces a split screen between Gosling and Blunt. So there are two characters in a split screen, talking about how they could use a split screen in their movie to illustrate the same relationship dynamics. It is this sort of meta commentary that quickly grows tiring while watching The Fall Guy. Additionally, there are several scenes with Colt and his stunt coordinator, Dan Tucker where they use movie titles as shorthand for how they are going to plan their attacks as the bad guys close in. So here we have two characters in an action movie, where they are filming an action movie, and referencing, you guessed it, other action movies. These unnecessary, self referential jokes completely broke the illusion for me, reminding me that I was watching a movie time and time again.

While it is a little underdeveloped, I appreciated the sense of levity and joy present in every fiber of this movie, from script to performances. That’s why I was so taken aback by one joke that occurs towards the end of the film. In the last act, an alien costumed Colt sneaks up on Jody in her trailer. She puts up an impressive fight before realizing it is him underneath the mask. Right as they are reconciling, the producer Gail knocks on the trailer door and they must hide Colt who is currently a wanted man. Gail enters and acknowledges the mess and destruction by saying, “it looks like Johnny and Amber were just in here.” In fairness, Gail is not intended to be a good or admirable person and this is something an out of touch producer might actually say. However the line is delivered as a joke and uncritically received by Blunt’s character before swiftly moving on. Regardless of how you personally feel about Heard and Depp’s public trial, this is a joke where the punchline is domestic violence. Something that should not be taken lightly. It just feels so mean spirited and out of place in an otherwise lighthearted comedy.

The Fall Guy shines when it focuses on the heroics of stunt performers that are often overlooked by the film industry. These people consistently put their lives on the line to give us the impressive cinematic moments that stick with us forever. Its reverence for these performers is admirable and eye opening, a perspective that was definitely missing in the canon of “movies about movies”. Gosling’s star power and on screen chemistry with Blunt elevates this film slightly above the average over-the-top action blockbuster. However, a meandering and self involved script prevents the story from tapping into anything meaningful beyond yet another cliche, “it doesn’t matter how many times you fall down, as long as you keep getting back up.” The Fall Guy is a passionate love letter to the action films that came before it, but by constantly referencing these movies, it fails to carve out its own unique place within the genre.