Review: 'The Fall Guy' falls flat

Universal Pictures, 2024.

While Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are undeniable super-stars and the sort of actors you'll always find yourself rooting for, "The Fall Guy" fails at becoming the romp-action-comedy it's aiming to be.

It's not all bad and as a comedy, it contains plenty of laughs, albeit there are more misses than hits. But as an on-the-nose love-letter to the long-ignored stunt community, it is less effective despite its efforts. It gives the under-appreciated stunt men and women their due, but hold this up to other stunt-heavy films that REALLY should be applauded - think "John Wick" or the "Mission: Impossible" movies - and it's no question that "The Fall Guy" falls way short.

Grade: C+

Those of a certain age may remember the hit ABC show, "The Fall Guy," that starred Lee Majors and Heather Thomas, which ran for five seasons in the early-80s. There's no real connection to the plot of that show, despite Gosling and Blunt's characters donning the names of the two main characters, Colt Seavers and Jody (Moreno in the movie, Banks in the TV series). The movie seems mostly to be cashing in on the name-recognition that may appeal to those that remember it.

Seavers (Gosling) is the main stunt stand-in for self-absorbed Hollywood action star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who also is in a secret relationship with a camera operator, Jody (Blunt). After a horrible accident, Colt and Jody's romance is severed. But Colt is brought back into action by a caffeine-addicted movie producer, Gail (Hannah Waddingham, from "Ted Lasso" fame), who calls him in a panic after Tom Ryder goes missing on the set of Jody's new film.

Don't think too hard about the plot. "The Fall Guy" is a series of scenes meant to provide us with laughs and endless stunt sequences, be it fights, falls, car chases, or anything else they can think of. The problem is that neither come across cohesively or with any rhythm. There are too many long stretches short on laughs, or leaps. The "meta" humor the film leans on doesn't quite work, and instead of feeling clever or inventive it rubbed me as lazy.

Let's face it though, is there a bigger superstar than Ryan Gosling? He's so likable, so good and so "all-in" that he makes the film bearable. In her own right, Emily Blunt is his perfect female counter-part, an actress with endless charisma who effortlessly has us liking her, much in the same way that, say, Tom Hanks did in his prime.  It is a bit shocking then, that given their individual charm, Gosling and Blunt don't have a lot of on-screen charisma...they have it in their press interviews and when they shared a stage at the Oscars, famously riffing on one another for their involvement in the Barbie/Oppenheimer show-down. What does that say about this movie that it's not able to capture any of their natural charm?

"The Fall Guy" is fun for what its worth, it just feels like it should have been better given those involved.  It does shine a spotlight on the stunt community, and for that, it's also hard to root against, as they deserve the recognition. But it's a mumble-jumble of genres that never gels into a cohesive film.  It's OK to want more from our movies, despite it all.

Grade: C+

Genre: Action, Comedy.
Run Time: 2 hours 6 minutes.
Rated PG-13.

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu.

Directed by David Leitch ("Bullet Train," "Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw," "Deadpool 2," "Atomic Blonde").

"The Fall Guy" is in theaters on Friday, May 3rd, 2024.