Abigail Johnson is a New York City-based writing intern, screenwriter, actor, and director. Her main focus is women in the entertainment industry and authenticity, especially advocating for diverse storytelling and new perspectives. Abigail loves discovering indie films that may not be seen in a traditional movie theatre, as well as listening to pop music and trying to find the next big artist. Abigail connects to Hollywood Insider’s values of substance over scandal and focusing on compassion and philosophy in her writing at Hollywood Insider. Utilizing writing for good is the main Hollywood Insider value that Abigail connects with, as her main goal is to use her talents for good.
Aug 27, 2024
From 1981 to 1986, ‘The Fall Guy’, starring Lee Majors, was broadcast on ABC. The series told the story of Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stunt-man who might as well be a bounty hunter as he utilized his skills in stunt work to catch criminals. The series was a success, and more recently, has been adapted into a major motion picture. Starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, ‘The Fall Guy’ premiered at South By Southwest Film Festival, and has recently made its rounds to theatres across America. However, the film of the same name might not live up to the original series.
‘The Fall Guy’ film’s story is similar to that of the original television show. Colt Seavers, portrayed by Ryan Gosling, finds himself involved in a conspiracy surrounding the disappearance of his film’s lead actor. Within this action-packed drama, there is another large storyline, where Colt realizes that the film he is performing in is the directorial debut of his ex-girlfriend. The three-minute trailer truly does give us most of the story and tries to pack everything in, much like that of the film.
With these two storylines happening simultaneously, I felt as if there was too much pushed into the film. Half of ‘The Fall Guy’ was structured like a romantic comedy, while the other half was an action film. There was a lot happening in one film, and I was having trouble knowing where to look. While I was entertained by ‘The Fall Guy’, I felt as if it didn’t know what it wanted to be. The romantic comedy elements were all there, and then the storyline took a complete 180 turn into the action genre. As an audience member, it was hard to get invested in the action storyline when I was already invested in the romantic arc.
I think another issue with the movie is the use of these notable actors. While I do not believe that we should completely end the use of notable named actors in films, sometimes the use of named actors moves audiences away from the world of the film. I didn’t feel like I was watching Colt Seavers in this film, I felt like I was watching Ryan Gosling on the screen. In comparison, while I was watching ‘Barbie’, I knew I was watching Ryan Gosling as Ken, but his performance was so captivating and believable. The character was tangible in ‘Barbie’, but in ‘The Fall Guy’, the character of Colt felt almost incomplete. I cannot name a single characteristic of this character, besides his name and occupation.
On the other hand, Emily Blunt’s character had more to her. She had a no-nonsense personality that made Colt Seavers’ attempts to get back with her seem foolish. I wished we could have seen more of this character, though the action storyline had more substance than the romantic storyline. I almost felt like I could suspend my disbelief for Emily Blunt’s character, Jody, more than Colt. I wished there was more of Jody in the film, and we could discover who she was without Colt and see what truly is going into this directorial debut of hers.
Both Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt had plenty of chemistry in ‘The Fall Guy’. I was able to believe that these characters cared about and wanted he best for each other, despite their storyline not being as fleshed out as that of the crime and action. I almost would have liked to see a romantic comedy variant of the same film, focusing on just their relationship, as they were a fun pair of characters to watch on screen. Colt Seavers crying in the car to Taylor Swift’s, ‘All Too Well’ was the icing on the cake of the romantic comedy arc.
The action scenes were entertaining and fun, mixing the faux action scenes that took place in the film inside the film with the real action that Colt was going through in the latter half. This mixture of action was visually stimulating, as this action film traded the gory trend for more physical stunts. These physical fight scenes truly paid homage to stunt performers of Hollywood, as stunt performers are some of the unsung heroes of Cinema.
While I have never seen the television series that the movie is based on, this film was a clear homage to the series. Most of the characters from the original series were adapted for the film, including Jody. Possibly the reason why this film feels like too much in a short time is because they are trying to put in as much from the years-long television show into a two-hour movie.
Overall, ‘The Fall Guy’ is worth the watch. It’s fun and entertaining, and the action scenes are interesting to keep you going through the end of the movie. While I do feel as if the trailer gave away most of the film, it was still an entertaining watch. I wouldn’t consider ‘The Fall Guy’ to be the height of Cinema by any means, but it’s a good watch if you want to be entertained. If you’re an action movie fan, then ‘The Fall Guy’ is the movie for you.
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke | Director: David Leitch | Writer: Drew Pearce | Producers: Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, Ryan Gosling, Guymon Casady| Cinematography: Jonathan Sela | Editing: Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
By Abigail Johnson
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Abigail Johnson is a New York City-based writing intern, screenwriter, actor, and director. Her main focus is women in the entertainment industry and authenticity, especially advocating for diverse storytelling and new perspectives. Abigail loves discovering indie films that may not be seen in a traditional movie theatre, as well as listening to pop music and trying to find the next big artist. Abigail connects to Hollywood Insider’s values of substance over scandal and focusing on compassion and philosophy in her writing at Hollywood Insider. Utilizing writing for good is the main Hollywood Insider value that Abigail connects with, as her main goal is to use her talents for good.
Abigail Johnson is a New York City-based writing intern, screenwriter, actor, and director. Her main focus is women in the entertainment industry and authenticity, especially advocating for diverse storytelling and new perspectives. Abigail loves discovering indie films that may not be seen in a traditional movie theatre, as well as listening to pop music and trying to find the next big artist. Abigail connects to Hollywood Insider’s values of substance over scandal and focusing on compassion and philosophy in her writing at Hollywood Insider. Utilizing writing for good is the main Hollywood Insider value that Abigail connects with, as her main goal is to use her talents for good.
Abigail Johnson is a New York City-based writing intern, screenwriter, actor, and director. Her main focus is women in the entertainment industry and authenticity, especially advocating for diverse storytelling and new perspectives. Abigail loves discovering indie films that may not be seen in a traditional movie theatre, as well as listening to pop music and trying to find the next big artist. Abigail connects to Hollywood Insider’s values of substance over scandal and focusing on compassion and philosophy in her writing at Hollywood Insider. Utilizing writing for good is the main Hollywood Insider value that Abigail connects with, as her main goal is to use her talents for good.
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