comedy
From Ken to action hero: Ryan Gosling is “The Fall Guy”
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt present “The Fall Guy” in Berlin. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
He burns, falls and flies through the air: Gosling can be seen as a stuntman in “The Fall Guy” alongside Emily Blunt. The fast-paced action comedy does justice to the breakneck film craft.
Hollywood star only laid down in March Ryan Gosling made an iconic performance with the “Barbie” song “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars. The 43-year-old can now be seen from a completely different side in the fast-paced action comedy “The Fall Guy”.
In the blockbuster, Gosling plays alongside “Oppenheimer” star Emily Blunt, a tireless stuntman who goes into danger in search of a missing actor. With many spectacular stunts, the Hollywood film is a tribute to everyone who works in front of and behind the camera on a film set.
“A Colt for all occasions” as inspiration
Director David Leitch (“Bullet Train”, “Deadpool 2”) was inspired for his new film by the 80s cult series “A Gun for All Occasions” about the stuntman and bounty hunter Colt Seavers (Lee Majors). “We didn’t want to adapt the original word for word,” Leitch told the German Press Agency. For fans of the series, the film has a few allusions in store. “We started developing our own interpretation of modern stuntman history,” he said. A lot of it is based on my own experiences.
In the two-hour comedy, Colt has to track down an actor (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who has disappeared from a multi-million dollar film set. A sci-fi western is being shot and the director is Colt’s ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno (Blunt). While he wants to win her back, the secrets surrounding the main character become more and more mysterious and Colt uncovers a conspiracy.
Daring action scenes
The elaborately staged stunts are definitely a plus of the film, as are the entertaining dialogues between Gosling and Blunt as (ex-)lovers. The main actors leave the strongest impression, also because the chemistry between them on screen is great. The idea of creating another film in one film and thus showing the work of a crew on set is not new, but it is original.
Numerous action scenes make it possible to overlook the somewhat thin plot. As a viewer, you get to see stunts with flipping cars, explosions, a chase with a burning boat or a daring helicopter jump, all accompanied by rocking guitar riffs. Some of these Gosling did himself, such as a fall from a twelve-story building.
Phrases like: “I’m just a stuntman” or “You’re a stuntman. Nobody will notice whether you’re here or not” are repeatedly mentioned in “The Fall Guy”. Stunt people are the real heroes, said Gosling recently at the European premiere in Berlin. The film is a great opportunity to show her world. “They take the hits for us, they protect us.”
Director Leitch used to work as a stuntman himself, for example as a double for Oscar winner Brad Pitt. But: “The stunts we did in “The Fall Guy” far exceed anything I’ve ever done in my career,” said the 48-year-old. “Stunt design is an integral part of cinema and has existed since the beginning of film.”
Separate Oscar category for stunts?
It’s not so much that stunt people want to be celebrated for their individual performances. “I think we want to maintain the illusion that the character is the character. It takes maybe five people to make Colt Sievers this action figure. That’s fine,” said the filmmaker. “The Fall Guy” is intended to celebrate the fact that stunt departments design and choreograph the sequences and that all trades are important for a film set – for example costume or production design.
From 2026, the Hollywood Film Academy wants to introduce a new Oscar category for casting merits. Leitch would also like to have his own stunt division at the awards ceremony. “Casting has kind of paved the way for how it can be done. We’re just following that path, and I think it’s hopeful.”
The Fall Guy, USA 2024, 127 minutes, FSK 12, by David Leitch, with Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson