Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a movie that I had heard much about but was unable to catch in theaters do to an extremely limited release. I knew that it featured Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer as detectives and was rumored to be a genre-bending film. Or maybe it was gender-bending; Val Kilmer’s character is named Gay Perry.

I was searching for a film on my Comcast On-Demand one night and found K2B2 as an option. I selected it and was thoroughly enjoying the movie when the cable decided I was not going to get to see the whole movie. My On-Demand has a nasty habit of timing out after 20 or 30 minutes, I’m guessing because of high activity from other subscribers. But since I was watching it at 12am on a Friday night, I thought maybe it’d be nice and let me view an entire movie. But no.

This was in early July. Early August, I went to The Traverse City Film Festival. It was playing there, but sold out. One show was added on stand-by, but my schedule of films did not allow me to stand-by, so I missed it again.

I added K2B2 to my Netflix account and waited…and waited…and waited. Finally, last week, it arrived. I watched it promptly, and it was so worth the wait.

Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer do play detectives and the film certainly bends genres. But there’s much more to K2B2 than that. Downey, Jr.’s character, Harry Lockhart, is a thief who stumbles into an audition while trying to flee from the police. He happens to read for the part of a thief who has just gotten his partner killed, which he has. Naturally, he’s convincing and he’s whisked off to L.A.

There, he’s paired up with Gay Perry, played by Val Kilmer, who is a real private detective. He is to study with Gay Perry to help shape his acting. The two become caught up in a murder mystery that involves a girl from Harry’s past. Michelle Monaghan plays Harmony Faith Lane, an aspiring actress for whom Harry (Downey, Jr.) had an unrequited adolescent crush.

The writer/director, Shane Black, brought us Lethal Weapons 1-4, The Last Boy Scout, The Last Action Hero and The Long Kiss Goodnight, as a writer. K2B2 is his directorial debut.

The buddy comedy factor is definitely present in K2B2. I was thinking, “This feels very Lethal Weapon” before I knew Black was the writer/director. But it’s less formulaic than the Lethal Weapon series and most buddy comedies. There are also elements of film noir, dark comedy and mystery intertwined. This sets the film apart, and in my opinion, high above, the buddy comedy genre. The buddy comedy elements here also are more wit than slapstick.

K2B2 exudes sarcasm and cynicism, but in a comical, non-spiteful way. It comes across subtlety and effectively with several winks and nods to pop culture. It is a smarter film than most, which likely explains its limited release, since the general movie-going public tends to be dumber than most.

Kilmer’s character, Gay Perry, is actually not a stereotype, as the name suggest. Gay Perry is a play on the phrase Gay Paris (pronounced Pear-ee, as it is in French). The moniker may poke fun at Perry’s sexual preference, but the characterization of Perry does not.

I really love the chemistry between Downey, Jr. and Kilmer. It is so much fun to watch. I also love the narration of the film, done by Downey Jr.’s character. He stops and starts and goes off on tangents, as most people do when telling a story. It isn’t rehearsed or edited, like most narratives. It’s not so haphazard that you can’t follow it, though. It’s just really funny.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is such a unique and wonderful film. I am definitely adding it to my collection. Prove that you’re smarter than the average movie-goer and see this film.

Grade: A