Daily Dialogue — May 18, 2015

Harry Lockhart: That was some pretty harsh shit with the old guy back there, right? But whatever, he’s creepy. Fuck him. Don’t worry about him. Anyhow, so…. thanks for coming. Thanks for taking the trip to L.A. with me. If I had to sum it up, and I do… because, you know, it’s, like, the end. I would say that this movie is about… it’s about friendship. Friendship is sacred.
Gay Perry: What are you doing?
Harry Lockhart: I’m trying to wrap up the movie… and leave the people with a message.
Gay Perry: I’ve got a message for you. Get your feet off my fucking desk.
Harry Lockhart: Sorry. I work for Perry now.
Gay Perry: And stop narrating.
Harry Lockhart: Obviously.
Gay Perry: That’s it. Please stay for the end credits. If you’re wondering who the best boy is, it’s someone’s nephew. Don’t forget to validate your parking. For all of you good people in the Midwest… sorry we said “fuck” so much. Say good night.
Harry Lockhart: Thanks again.
Gay Perry: Now, go. Vanish.

— Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), screenplay by Shane Black, screen story by Shane Black, novel by Brett Halliday

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Breaking the 4th Wall.

Trivia: Shane Black read several stories by Raymond Chandler when writing this script. As a result, the story is divided into chapters and the chapter titles come from Chandler works. Specifically: 1. “Trouble is My Business”, 2. “The Lady in the Lake”, 3. “The Little Sister”, 4. “The Simple Art of Murder”, and Epilogue: “Farewell, My Lovely”.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This example of breaking the 4th wall is made even more post-modern by the irony that Shane Black had a habit of doing the same thing in his scripts — to script readers. Perhaps the single most famous piece of scene description in which he broke the 4th wall is from The Last Boyscout:

In a way, this approach was sheer genius. It’s a massive acknowledgement of the script reader and all the bad scripts they regularly have to read. And Black embraced a simple premise about his Narrative Voice as if to say: I am going to do everything I can to entertain you. You and me? We’re allies here. I want you on my side and we are going to have a good time for the next 100 plus pages.

So breaking the 4th on-screen… not much of a stretch in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.