(Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
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(“The Fall Guy” trailer courtesy of Universal Pictures)
Hate it or love it, the underdog is on top.
No, not rappers The Game and 50 Cent because they have too much money, fame and power now to even remember their underdog status.
But some of the true underdogs of Hollywood like stunt doubles finally get some payback on all the A-list superstars who might not fully appreciate their services thanks to Ryan Gosling and the crazy and insanely unique movie, “The Fall Guy.”
Having the confidence to stay in the background while others get all the shine is an extremely valuable asset.
Too many in today’s social media driven world want the limelight by any means necessary.
Furthermore, some will go out of their way attempting to put out someone else’s shine if they believe that person is encroaching on their domain.
In “The Fall Guy,” Colt Seavers (Gosling) has built a great career for himself, working in Hollywood as a stunt man since the days of “Miami Vice.”
Colt has the physical attributes, such as the ability to fight and handle a gun, plus the charisma to mimic the star actor he is often attached to on big Hollywood productions.
The only problem with his job is that the star that he doubles, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), is not the easiest person to work for or with.
Sure, Hollywood is filled with stars that remain humble and show love to their stunt doubles.
However, Tom Ryder ain’t that dude.
In fact, he is a total D-bag.
Nevertheless, a job is never perfect.
So, what’s the big deal about having to work with a total jerk when a person does what they love for a living and are making a decent amount of money doing it?
Plus, Colt works on Hollywood productions doing the crazy stuff that makes action movies special in the first place.
Most importantly, he often gets to work with, perhaps, the woman of his dreams while on many productions.
In “The Fall Guy,” the apple of Colt’s smitten eye is Jody (Emily Blunt), who works as a Hollywood producer.
Though Jody has a great gig like her beau, she aspires to scale even greater heights in Hollywood.
Jody wants to write and direct films one day.
And her biggest fan and supporter is probably Colt, who cannot wait for the day that the two of them will own Hollywood.
Unfortunately, working as a stunt man is not the safest job on the planet.
And when Colt’s suffers a catastrophic injury while filming, his dreams must take a back seat to reality and a job as a valet.
The only thing worse for a celebrity who falls on hard times and must take a demeaning job is when other people recognize them at their lowest, working a normal nine-to-five.
While Colt is not actually a celebrity, his work makes him well-known in certain circles.
As a result, having to park the cars of people who were once colleagues might definitely be rock bottom.
But a wise person once said that all it takes is one “yes” or one opportunity to change a person’s life for the better.
Therefore, when Colt gets a call from Hollywood bigwig producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), he finally gets some much-needed, and life-altering, good news.
In the year since his injury, some major things have changed in Hollywood and he is now in demand again, thanks to him knowing all the right industry people and them respecting his past work.
Like people say, it is not what you know, it is who you know.
Well, Colt knows all the right people and he is actually the only person who could pull off the job that Gail needs him to handle.
In “The Fall Guy,” Gail is producing a movie called Metal Storm.
Unfortunately for Gail and the young filmmaker, the star of the big budget movie has gone missing in action in the middle of filming.
Faced with the dilemma of the financiers and the studio backing Metal Storm finding the multi-million-dollar star of the movie is missing in the middle of production and canning the project and everyone’s career and reputation, why not get his lookalike stunt double to save the day?
In fact, with artificial intelligence and deepfakes, the team might be able to film the rest of the movie without Tom, using modern technology to fill in the gaps.
Good idea, right?
What could go wrong?
In “The Fall Guy,” darn-near everything could go wrong, unless Colt is truly up to the job given to him.
“The Fall Guy” should be the movie of May.
It is so over the top.
It is so big.
It is so fiery.
It is so comical.
It is so endearing.
It will be so hard not to like.
Yes, some of the elements of “The Fall Guy” might be cheesy.
But the great thing about Gosling is that he knows when and when not to take himself seriously.
The spring and summer months are about having fun.
That is why studios release many of their big-budget blockbusters during that time and not many that they want to contend for awards.
And “The Fall Guy: is definitely a fun two hours.
Moviegoers will love the movie quotes that the Hollywood workers use in casual conversation.
Moviegoers will love the karaoke scenes.
Moviegoers will love the dog, Jean-Claude.
And most importantly, moviegoers will love the relationship between Colt and Jody, especially how they do not even try to keep their relationship drama from interfering with their work.
They are the definition of a ride or die couple.
And if moviegoers are asked whether they loved or hated “The Fall Guy,” how could they hate it when a true underdog is finally on top?
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