Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt remind us how good a romantic action comedy can be - The Boston Globe

Leave it to the Oscar-nominated supporting actors from the behemoth that was Barbenheimer to bring back the rousing, romantic thrill ride. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are here to remind us what it looks like when two actors click onscreen. "The Fall Guy" isn't just a throwback to the 1980s television show that inspired it; it's an old-fashioned romp that knows how to build on its gags.

It's also a tribute to stunt performers. There's a very pointed line early on about how the Academy has yet to create an Oscar category for a profession that has existed since the beginning of cinema. "The Fall Guy" makes a great argument for rectifying that glaring omission.

Like Hal Needham ("Smokey and the Bandit") and Chad Stahelski (the "John Wick" series) before him, director David Leitch started out as a stuntman. And like those directors, he relishes the art of a well-executed action scene. "The Fall Guy" showcases the talents of the "unknown stuntman" that Lee Majors's Colt Seavers sang about in the celebrity name-dropping humblebrag of a theme song that opened "The Fall Guy" during its five-year run on ABC.

There may be a new actor playing Colt, but the basics of the old series remain: Colt and his cohorts use their stunt skills to outwit and defeat the bad guys. Gosling's Colt isn't a bounty hunter this time, but he still ends up enmeshed in a plot to bring back someone who doesn't necessarily want to be found.

In this case, it's Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), an obnoxious, unlikable action superstar who may or may not be modeled on Tom Cruise. Colt is Ryder's stunt double, taking all the bumps and bruises so that his doppelganger can lie about doing his own stunts. In addition to making Ryder look good, Colt is also involved in a hot fling with production assistant Jody (Blunt).

When a retake of a death-defying stunt goes awry, Colt breaks his back. The ensuing recovery forces him out of the stunt business. Colt's wounded pride causes him to abruptly end his relationship with Jody.

Eighteen months later, Ryder has mysteriously disappeared from the Sydney set of "Metalstorm," Jody's directorial debut. (Is this an homage to the awful 1983 3-D movie "Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn"?) Megaproducer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) drags Colt out of retirement and into Australia to help find him.

Desperate to make amends to an angry and hurt Jody, Colt joins the stunt team, reuniting with his coordinator Dan (Winston Duke, M'Baku to you "Black Panther" fans). His motivation is to save her directing career — plus he's also still madly in love with her, a feeling she may begrudgingly reciprocate if he plays his cards right.

The quest for Ryder brings mayhem for Colt and other characters played by familiar faces including Stephanie Hsu. Colt will take and dish out an extraordinary amount of punishment, but the twisty plot takes a backseat to the bond he and Jody forge and rekindle throughout the film's brisk 126-minute runtime. In fact, the plot of "The Fall Guy" may be the biggest MacGuffin since Hitchcock's 1959 masterpiece, "North By Northwest."

It's all held together by Gosling, who excels when he's allowed to be funny, carefree, and loose. As he did in his superb turn in Shane Black's 2016 dark action comedy "The Nice Guys," Gosling finds notes of pure recklessness and weaves them into a hilarious and heartfelt symphony of the absurd. He's limber and charming, with a twinkle in his eye and a simultaneously arrogant and adorable smirk on his face.

Only Gosling could share the screen with unicorns, thugs with leopard-print head tattoos, and a doberman that understands commands in French — and upstage them all. At one point, he dons an eye-searing neon outfit that makes his Barbie wardrobe seem like a closet full of sweat pants.

Blunt is the calming yin to Gosling's overactive yang. Writer Drew Pearce keeps the two of them awash in banter and will-they-or-won't-they tension. Jody isn't a damsel-in-distress or bland character, either. There's a great scene where she and Colt appear in split-screen during a phone call, evoking the goofy charm of the 1959 Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedy "Pillow Talk" while supplying dialogue worthy of the master of the onscreen telephone conversation, writer-director James L. Brooks (see 1987's "Broadcast News").

Another great scene features Colt fighting for his life while an oblivious Jody sings an impassioned karaoke version of Phil Collins's syrupy Oscar-nominated song "Against All Odds." (Watch for the moment Colt flies past the window of the karaoke bar in the background of the frame — this film rewards the astute viewer!)

"The Fall Guy" delivers the action-movie goods, especially during the climax, where everyone gets to kick ass and take names. It becomes a bit much, but the film never lets us forget that we want to see Colt and Jody reunited by fadeout. This movie is a lot of things — all of them incredibly fun and enjoyable — but at its heart, it's a joyous return to form for the romantic comedy. Welcome back.

★★★½

THE FALL GUY

Directed by David Leitch. Written by Drew Pearce, based on the TV show created by Glen A. Larson. Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Stephanie Hsu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham. At AMC Boston Common, Landmark Kendall Square, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, AMC Causeway, suburbs. 126 minutes. PG-13 (stunts aplenty, mayhem galore, all in the name of love)

Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.