Chronicle of an Unannounced Flop: The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is everything we want from a movie. It’s fun, action-packed, romantic, family-friendly, and has Ryan Gosling making us laugh (Top 3 funniest people alive). However, we didn’t see it. And by doing so, we’re sending a not-so-good message to those who put up the money, those who decide what goes into our eyes, the men in suits in Beverly Hills, those who fulfill my fantasy day by day (“Making movies?” “No!!, snorting cocaine off a zebra’s ass; of course making movies… Although the zebra thing wouldn’t be bad either.”), the executives of the major studios, of course, we’re talking about them.
Now, this failure forces Hollywood millionaires to rethink where to invest their money. This shouldn’t have happened with The Fall Guy, as it possesses everything that has been demanded in similar columns to these (the schizophrenic blogs of the internet) and in more mainstream publications (see this peculiar and recent piece from IndieWire).
- Is it original? Almost. It’s based on an ’80s series with a similar premise, but forgotten by time and infused with the necessary dose of irony to fit the 21st century.
- Is it fun? Undoubtedly. I think it’s been a while since I enjoyed a movie this much; the average of good jokes and gags exceeds current standards.
- Does it have good action? The movie is about the unsung heroes of good cinema: stunt doubles. Soooo, I believe it does have good action; even more, it has great action, and good set pieces, and incorporates its narrative ideas very well into those sequences.
- Is it endearing? Guys, Ryan Gosling + Comedy = The best way to pass the time. Here’s an uncomfortable truth: almost a year has passed, and I can say it now, the best (and almost the only outstanding thing) about “Barbie” was Gosling’s Ken, no arguments accepted.
- So if it’s so good, why did it fail? It’s complicated, too much so, but let’s try.
I’m (Not) Just Content
I think the reason why a family-friendly action film featuring two of the biggest movie stars in the world (Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt), directed by someone who redefined the action genre in the 2010s (David Leitch, co-director and producer of the first John Wick; director of Bullet Train and Atomic Blonde), and with an original concept that’s familiar enough not to alienate anyone (A retired stunt double must find the movie star he’s been working for after a few wild party days to finish the film of his ex-lover)… The failure of something like this can only be multifaceted, complex, and, at the same time, insulting.
We can point to a poor marketing campaign outside the US, without localization and with few premieres in non-Anglo-Saxon territories. We can talk about knowing the digital release date before the theatrical release date, or we could aim our cannons at more cultural, global, and serious issues: Such as changes in consumer habits (prevalence of short-form content), the global economic crisis that has turned the most accessible art of all into a luxury for a few, or even power struggles for people’s attention (soft power and all that it implies, or how the 21st-century war unfolds on screens, not in trenches, a topic for another time).
We could delve deep and write 10,000 words, but it wouldn’t help with the conclusion I want to share today: The Fall Guy doesn’t deserve to go unnoticed. Movies don’t deserve this painful and forgettable passage through one of the few sacred places left to humanity (the movie theater), only to become another piece of content in some overpriced streaming service’s crappy catalog.
Maybe in the future, I’ll focus more on a sharper analysis of what’s listed above, but not now. Today, I’m just here to recommend that you go see The Fall Guy at the cinema if possible; otherwise, it’s already available on VOD. And if you are going to watch it, but watch it the right way, don’t just have it on in the background while cleaning on a Saturday at 10:00 am or as an excuse for disappointing sex. Sit down calmly, pour yourself a drink, grab your favorite snack, and enjoy it with your favorite people.
Trust me; you deserve it, the movie deserves it, Ryan Gosling deserves it — you’re the greatest, Ryan, reaching Maradona-like levels of greatness now, starting to appear in tattoos of guys around the world, and from there, immortality is all that awaits you… Sorry, back from the mystical tangent. Don’t let the last affordable art form die; don’t let it become “content,” as the great Scorsese already implored us.
Go to the cinema. Watch The Fall Guy.
