Romance and action are longtime backbones of cinema. Each builds tension. Each has big, dramatic payoffs. Their lively banter and minor skirmishes are satisfying time-fillers. In essence, everything romance and action brings to the table fits the medium perfectly.
However, neither are fully respected in the industry. Each genre, when played straight, is written off as frivolous entertainment. Romance has largely been relegated to streaming releases, and the stunt teams who make our biggest blockbusters possible aren’t recognized on Oscar night. These facts are regularly decried, but a small band has put their money where their mouths are and given us a big, star-studded argument for each genre’s worth.
The Fall Guy is literally about a stuntman in love. Ryan Gosling’s Colt Seavers begins the film on top (literally). He’s performing a massive drop for A-lister Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). He’s been doing Ryder’s stunts for years, putting up with the star’s antics because of the steady gigs and thrills. He doesn’t blink an eye as he’s dangled from the top of a building. In fact, he spends the moment before the fall flirting with aspiring director Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), making plans for margaritas after the shoot. The stunt goes wrong, as does the relationship. Pride comes before the fall and all that. But after a long recovery, he’s called back in for another of Ryder’s projects, giving him the chance to regain his career and the woman. He just has to find the missing Ryder on top of doing his stunts.
Unlike the fictional Tom Ryder, Ryan Gosling readily admits he didn’t do his stunts for The Fall Guy. That would be antithetical to the film’s heroic portrayal of stuntmen, who it alleges have the skills to save the day in addition to making movies look cool. But even this film knows stunt performers don’t sell tickets or the film’s message. That is left to Gosling, Blunt, and director David Leitch, the people our media machine is used to interacting with. You get a message from the two men before the film glorifying stunt teams, and the starring pair have been splashed across the film’s extensive marketing push.
The latter occurs for good reason. Gosling and Blunt are movie stars in the way few people of their generation are. They’ve got that intangible pop onscreen, an electric presence that makes it impossible not to feel good while watching them. Each turn that shining goodwill to 11 for this crowd-pleaser, making it effortless to root for these two crazy kids to fall back in love.
A little less successful is the film’s action, which is steady and competent but never impressive. Perhaps the budget, which was substantial but not Mission: Impossible level excessive didn’t allow them to knock the audience’s socks off. What’s there is enjoyable, from apartment-destroying fights to boat jumps, but it delivers more quantity than quality. It all feels a tad too small, perhaps getting too restrictive given that it’s all supposed to be “real” or leaning too hard into the film’s humorous streak. Less stunts in exchange for bigger, more impressive setpieces would’ve sold Lietch and Gosling’s leading message better.
In fact, the film is so focused on stuntwork that its alternative interest, romance films, feels like a bridesmaid. There are plenty of references to genre classics peppered in, but there’s also long periods where Blunt’s Jody disappears. She is a sketch of a person, and Colt isn’t much more. Blunt and Gosling’s star power can only cover so much, and the lack of character definition makes the romance a tad rote. Audiences will want them to end up together because they’re two charming, attractive people. The best romances make you want people to end up together because they’re charming, attractive people who fit together. Jody and Colt are too undefined for that last, crucial piece to click.
Neither element completely fails, though, and combined they more than fill The Fall Guy with enjoyable moments. As an argument for film’s value as entertainment, it succeeds wildly. You’ll never be bored as it galavants between action scenes and flirtations, and it certainly leans into the eye candy pleasures of Hollywood glamour. Only its specific goals, like its impassioned argument for the recognition of stunt teams, fall flat. Most audiences won’t care about this too much. They show up for the fruits of these people’s labor, not the politics behind filmmaking. So no, The Fall Guy won’t be changing the industry, but it does make for a very good time at the movies.
Release: Available now on demand
Director: David Leitch
Writers: Drew Pearce, Glen A. Larson
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu
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