Hello Readers,
Today I am bringing you my thoughts of two of the most anticipated films of 2024 – The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt and Challengers – Luca Guadagnino’s erotic tennis drama starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Both have been heavily advertised with premiere events around the world. Ryan Gosling made a statement by dressing up as one half of the cartoon duo Beavis and Butt-Head along with SNL actor Mikey Day, reprising their roles from the popular Saturday night sketch show. Another event saw a stunt performed where stuntmen broke through the film poster dressed in a similar suit to Gosling while riding motorcycles.
Challengers has gone for the more fashion-focused approach with the stars of the film being dressed in Jonathan Anderson looks who served as the costume designer for the film. He is also the creative director of luxury fashion house LOEWE. Zendaya never misses an opportunity to be on theme at red carpets and in every press event or premiere for her new film, she has been wearing tennis themed outfits all immaculately styled by her long time stylist Law Roach. LOEWE is one of the fashion houses that the pair have worked with at previous events. Law Roach revealed on a recent podcast the reluctance of other big fashion labels to dress Zendaya when she started out in her career. She has never publicly worn anything from the ‘Big Five’ – Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Chanel, Dior and Valentino (apart from Valentino that Zendaya has had a contract with since 2020) in her 13 years of fame.
While both films have been making headlines for different reasons, they definitely lived up to the hype in my opinion and seeing them on the big screen were very different experiences.
The Fall Guy (2024)
I saw the Fall Guy with my family at the cinema, the week after it opened. There was still a large crowd but we did go on a Monday evening so it was probably smaller than the weekend. Most people were in couples or groups, presumably their immediate family. As the film was a 12A, it did have a family feeling with little bad language and the action fit the parody vibe of a film within a film.
I really liked the story as the comedy comes from the main film being made ‘Metal Storm’ being an amalgamation of many recognisable films such as Dune, Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and so on. The film itself was actually based on a television show starring Lee Majors from the 1980s and celebrates the role of the stunt team who are often invisible and unsung heroes of the film industry.
Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a stunt double at the top of his game since doubling up for renowned actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). While working on his latest film, he has been developing feelings for camera operator, Jody. A big stunt goes wrong and Colt retreats from the spotlight, believing himself to be at fault.
Cut to a few years later, Colt is working as a valet in Los Angeles and gets a call from demanding producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) who insists that Jody, now a director, is requesting Colt as a stunt coordinator on her film, Metal Storm. Colt flies to Sydney hoping to rekindle their summer fling but when he gets there he realises that he’s been set up and that Gail has flown him there to use his likeness as unreliable Tom Ryder has gone missing.
Colt starts working on the film and at Gail’s request to save Jody’s film, goes looking for Tom who has been hanging out with a dangerous crowd. From there, it’s neon suits, fake samurai swords, truck car chases and AI being used for evil.
The stunts in this film were amazing as expected but all things that I have not seen before on screen. There were a few twists and turns in terms of the plot but fitted with the parody vibe. There was some violence but done through comedy so it was enjoyable. I thought Ryan Gosling did a great job and he balanced the comedy, action and romance really well. I think his comedy skills have been undervalued and I hope he takes on more comedy roles in the future.
Overall, I would say this film was the definition of a blockbuster, made to be seen with friends and family at the cinema. I’m sure I would re-watch when it appears on streaming but it won’t have the same effect as seeing it on the big screen.
Challengers (2024)
I saw this film by myself in the middle of the day so the screen was much emptier with most people sitting at the back of the theatre. This gave a much more concentrated view and during the last scene, I barely noticed what was happening around me. I am not sure if a 15 rating was entirely necessary as for all of the erotic tension between the actors, there was no on-screen sex and little bad language. I don’t think it was quite a film for 12-year-olds though.
We follow the stories of Tashi Duncan, Art Donaldson (Faist) and Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) from their meeting at 18 years old, on the cusp of their tennis careers to their early 30s when Art and Patrick meet at a small tournament, a challenger before the US Open. This tense match frames the whole film by starting and then ending it.
Art and Patrick were best friends at 18, having been roommates since they were 12 at the Tennis Academy. Art is headed to Stanford University while Patrick plans to go straight to the pros. At a competition where they compete as doubles they see rising star, Tashi Duncan compete and both fall for her. When they meet later at the mixer and then in their hotel room it becomes clear that Tashi is interested in both of them. Patrick wins her phone number in a match against Art and dates Tashi who joins Art at Stanford. We see their lives at college along with Tashi’s career-ending injury. When Patrick isn’t there for her she relies on Art and when they catch up a few years later, start dating.
By the time, Art and Patrick meet at the challenger, Art and Tashi are married with a young daughter and Tashi has become Art’s coach. He is at the top of his game in tennis having won various Grand Slams but is ready to retire. Tashi enters him into a New Jersey Challenger competition match to raise his confidence after an easy defeat.
Patrick has fallen on hard times and is living out of his car and motels. He enters the challenger for the money. He and Art have not spoken in about 10 years. He sees Tashi around the hotel during the tournament in the lead up to the final match against Art.
The erotic tension comes from the chemistry that all three of them have together. Since their rendez-vous at 18, there was always a possibility between Art and Patrick with Tashi eventually dating both of them at different times. There are a lot of long lingering looks between the three, with Tashi often placing ultimatums or deals on the outcome of tennis matches between Art and Patrick. It is clear that Art and Tashi are not happy in their marriage and are using each other to become successful.
I think Luca Guadagnino’s films often have a simmering eroticism between certain characters often turning into sexual relationships. The camera work along with the sweat and power all created an electric tension between Art and Patrick in their final match with Tashi sitting in the crowd watching.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I think the cast and director managed to create a very suspenseful film using mostly looks and interactions between the three stars. Tennis was where they channeled their frustrations so it became almost another presence on screen with every serve and movement being carefully framed.
Both films were enjoyable in different ways and I think Challengers was great to see at the cinema but would perhaps work better on a smaller screen than the Fall Guy as the suspense all comes from the tension between the screen and the audience.
Happy Watching,
Robyn
