‘The Fall Guy’: Only Ryan Gosling Could Revive the Studio Rom-Com

Introducing The Fall Guy’s world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday evening, the film’s biggest blockbuster star had a message for the audience: “I’m Ryan Gosling, and I did almost none of my own stunts in the movie.” Gosling then went on to credit and thank his stunt double, Logan Holladay, congratulating him for breaking the Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls—eight-and-a-half—completed in a movie.

Sure, this may not have all that much to do with the plot of the fab movie we’re about to tell you all about. But The Fall Guy, releasing in theaters on May 3, is an ode to the art of moviemaking, and this shoutout—especially since some of the actor characters in this movie claim to do their own stunts when they actually don’t—means a lot. It’s a testament to how much Gosling and director David Leitch (a former stuntman who worked on films like The Bourne Legacy and Mr. and Mrs. Smith) have devoted this movie to the craft of stunts. Although The Fall Guy—adapted from the 1980s ABC TV show of the same name—is also a delightful romantic comedy as well as a mystery thriller as exciting as Knives Out, the movie’s dedication to its rip-roaring action sequences are what make it so goddamn entertaining.

Colt Seavers (Gosling) has the perfect life. He loves his job as the number-one stuntman for A-List action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), where he gets to impress everyone from top-notch producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) to camera operator/aspiring director Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Lovebirds Colt and Jody tend to sneak off together on set, meeting up in empty trailers and whispering to each other on private radios—until one of Colt’s stunts goes wrong, resulting in a broken back and ego.

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