There are many versions of the holiday season, but a certain subset of film nerds know that the truest expression of Christmas is actually Shane Black-mass. Black has penned and directed some action-comedy classics in his time and has a penchant for setting them at Christmas time. That setting, sometimes overt and sometimes just in the background, is used to contrast and highlight elements in the films, which requires a grasp of tone that few other writer-directors have mastered.
So, treat yourself to one of Shane Black’s Christmas movies this Boxing Day. Here are all five, and where you can buy, rent, or stream them.
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Be sure to check previous entries in our home video series for movie recommendations!
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Director:
Richard Donner
Written by:
Shane Black
Starring:
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan.
Shane Black’s Christmas fixation started early in his career. It’s easy to forget that Lethal Weapon is a Christmas movie. Christmas Action became such a thing through the 1990s, but the trappings of Christmas are used incredibly effectively to contrast both the R-rated action and the suicidal mental state of Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Director:
Renny Harlin
Written By:
Shane Black
Starring:
Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Amandes, Yvonne Zima, Brian Cox, Patrick Malahide, Craig Bierko, and David Morse
A perennial favourite here at Awesome Friday HQ, The Long Kiss Goodnight is a great fusion of Shane Black’s dark humour and Renny Harlin’s always-dialled-to-eleven action sensibilities. Geena Davis is excellent in the dual role of Samantha, the amnesiac school teacher and Charlie, the deadly fast-talking spy, and Samuel L Jackson holds his performance as private eye Mitch Henessy as his own personal favourite.
Some households celebrate the holiday with “yippie ki-yay”; in our household, we say “die screaming”.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Director:
Shane Black
Written By:
Shane Black
Starring:
Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen
After a successful career as a screenwriter, Shane Black finally sat in the director’s chair with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and cast an actor who was on the comeback trail after battling substance abuse issues and a string of public incidents, the then-not-megastar Robert Downey Jr.
It’s weird to remember a time when he wasn’t one of the most popular and well actors on the planet, but this was one of his earliest leading roles after making his return. Most pivotally, it is also the role that -despite the film’s initial low box office take- got the attention of Jon Favreau, who eventually cast him in Iron Man.
Iron Man Three (2013)
Director:
Shane Black
Written By:
Shane Black & Drew Pearce
Starring:
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley
Iron Man Three occupies an interesting space in the Marvel Universe, dealing directly with the fallout from Tony Stark’s attempted sacrifice at the end of The Avengers. Shane Black takes the reins this time at the suggestion of his former star, Robert Downey Jr, and once again uses the holiday season to contrast. Tony’s battle with PTSD from having barely saving the world.
It’s an underrated entry in the MCU, full of great Shane Black one-liners and other tropes he so often revisits (like a precocious child for the protagonist to interact with), and also one of the best scores in the MCU to date.
The Nice Guys (2016)
Director:
Shane Black
Written by:
Shane Black & Anthony Bagarozzi
Starring:
Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David, and Kim Basinger
The Nice Guys might be the film that Shane Black was working toward his entire career. A mismatched pair of buddy detectives investigate a conspiracy with a precocious child along for the ride. The Holiday season contrasts both Russell Crowe’s cynical disposition throughout and Ryan Gosling’s depressed alcoholic demeanour.
Gosling and Crowe are both excellent in this one, with Gosling giving one of his best comedic performances to date and Angourie Rice in the role that put her on the map as Gosling’s smarter, more capable daughter. There’s also a blin-and-you’ll-miss-it, uncredited Robert Downey Jr. cameo for the eagle-eyed.
It’s one of Black’s sharpest scripts -featuring a few of his best jokes, both re-used and new- and while it’s debatably the least to do with Christmas, the yuletide wrap-up will leave you wanting a sequel that has yet to materialise.
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