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The Fall Guy

It’s difficult to name a Hollywood leading man that exudes more charm than Ryan Gosling. Fresh off his Academy Award nomination as the plastic-brained Ken in BARBIE (not to mention his exuberant performance of “I’m Just Ken” during the ceremony itself), the talented superstar helped kick off the 2024 summer movie season with the action-rom-com THE FALL GUY.

THE FALL GUY didn’t come close to approaching BARBIE in terms of numbers at the box-office and seemed to get lost against big names like KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and FURIOSA. To be fair, it didn’t come close to having the same type of buzz that surrounded the epic “Barbenheimer” weekend last year, yet despite all of these factors, the movie itself was downright delightful.

Gosling plays stunt man Colt Seavers. Standing in for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Colt has a pretty sweet life. Not only is he one of the best in the business, but his budding relationship with producer Jody Moreno (the equally charming Emily Blunt) seems to be going about as well as he could possibly hope. Unfortunately, his dream life dissolves into a nightmare when a stunt goes terribly wrong and he is severely injured in front of the entire crew of his latest film.

18 months later, Colt is out of the movie biz, completely alone, and working for burritos as a valet. When he gets a call from producer Gail Meyer (TED LASSO’s Hannah Waddingham) that he is in demand for a new movie, he quickly passes. Whether it is pain, fear, embarrassment, or a tragic combination of all three factors, he’s all set with that life. Once Gail reveals that the request is coming from first-time director Jody, however, Colt is on the next plane out of town.

As it turns out, Jody most certainly DID NOT make the request for Colt to be there and is pretty salty about how things ended between them. Given that the movie, “Metalstorm” is set to be a comic-con staple, and there are no other stuntmen available, she reluctantly agrees to let Seavers stay. The chemistry between them remains palpable, and the same can be said for Blunt and Gosling. The duo work very well together, and the give-and-take feels far more natural than many of the offerings we see in films such as these.

From here, things get fairly silly, as Ryder goes missing and Gail insists that Colt be the man to find him. Colt reluctantly agrees, realizing that Jody’s success is fully dependent on Ryder. His search results in a number of outlandish situations, from sparring with a sword-wielding co-star, tripping after ingesting a spiked drink and battling gun-totting bodyguards. If this all sounds absurd, it’s because it absolutely is. And the beauty of it, is that it somehow works. This is a credit to both the cast, director David Leitch, and screenwriters Glen Larson and Drew Pearce. THE FALL GUY doesn’t take itself seriously for a second, unspooling as a playful, giddy romp that is outlandish in all the right ways. Gosling’s portrayal of Seavers is pretty much how we envision the actor to be in real life, making the blockbuster a meta delight that is likely to entertain anyone who watches. The action sequences are bombastic and gleefully over-the-top, allowing its audience to truly contemplate the stunt work unfolding before our very eyes. It’s the type of production that may not have the greatest box-office legs, but will continue to thrive as word of mouth spreads.