Review of The Bang Bang Gang (1970) by Ross C — 27 Nov 2010

Slightly confusing, intentionally I think, but enjoyable enough to warrant a second viewing. Downey Jr. is your omniscient narrator and scumbag petty thief who finds himself suddenly involved with murders and crimes and acting jobs he really doesn't have anything to do with, but that doesn't stop him from trying to fit in as painful as it might be.

It's a little on the existential side, and that kind of of thing can be pretentious and get boring pretty fast, but not here. The script is clever enough to keep it from bogging down in a lot of dry observations of the LA scene and the pacing picks up at the right times to keep you from thinking too much about it.

I liked the scenes with Val Kilmer, the butch gay private detective and Downey the best and the casual abuse that Val heaps on as they go along, pretty funny stuff. I'll have to see it again sometime.