You might not remember Lee Majors. He was, for five seasons, Colt Seavers, in “The Fall Guy.”  Now Ryan Gosling takes on the mantel of the unknown hero of the screen, both large and small; Gosling’s the titular fall guy, a stuntman and his version of “The Fall Guy” is  a fun romance and very meta murder tale. The film’s tagline is: He’s only the stuntman, but he’s stealing the show.”

The film opens with Colt Seavers (Gosling) getting ready to re-do a stunt because there was too much face in the last take and the insufferable star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), complains that you can tell by the jawline. He insists that the stunt be done backwards. Things go wrong and Seavers ends up being rushed to a hospital, after which he ghosts his camera operator girlfriend Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) and sinks into a cluttered apartment, greasy-hair depression. Instead of racing and rolling cars, he’s a valet at a swanky Mexican restaurant (Cacahua?), one patronized by some of the actors he formerly worked with.

Colt gets a call from the brash, opportunistic producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) who is in Australia overseeing Jody’s first big budget action film, Metalstorm,”  as executive producer. Gail tells Seavers that Jody has specifically requested Colt.  Once in Sydney, Australia, Colt realizes that Jody didn’t request him and it still bitter about the break-up, something reflected in the in-progress script for “Metalstorm.” But after performing eight and a half cannon rolls in a car (stunt driver Logan Holladay breaking the Guinness World Record) and crunching a camera (running the San Diego Comic-Con shot), he learns from Gail the reason she brought him down to Sydney. Now “the biggest action star on the planet” Ryder is missing.

Gail tells him, “Full disclosure, he’s fallen in with some shady people.”

When Colt asks, “Why me,” Gail responds, “You’re a stunt man, no one’s going to notice whether you’re here or not, no offense.”

For Colt, isn’t that the crux of the problem? “I mean,” he replies, “some taken.” Colt has 48 hours to find Tom Ryder and save Jody’s film and that will involve some stunts, a dog, a neon green suit and a dead guy on ice in a bathtub. As the trailer promises, there will be a twist.

Director David Leitch knows how to get both action and character development as well as balancing the humor and the violence, having directed the 2018 “Deadpool 2,” the 2019 “Hobbs & Shaw” and the 2022 “Bullet Train.” The subject itself is close to Leitch having been the stunt double for Brad Pitt (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” in 2005, “Troy” in 2004, “Ocean’s Eleven” in 2001, “Spy Game” in 2001 and “Fight Club” in 1999).

Drew Pearce’s (“Iron Man 3” in 2013, “Hobbs & Shaw” in 2019) script, based on Glen A. Larson’s TV series “The Fall Guy,” is smart with no cheats. The groundwork for everything is laid out along the way and there are plenty of movie references, but don’t worry. You won’t have to rack your brain (or reach for your cellphone to do a search) because the script provides the answer soon enough.

While this does pay tribute to the original series which ran from 1981-1986, it also gives a nod to a contemporaneous TV show, “Miami Vice” (1984-1989). Gosling adds nuanced layers to Colt and Leitch takes advantage of his comedic timing and Gosling’s self-deprecating humor adds to the plight of the unknown stunt man persona. Blunt also handles the humorous parts well as a strong, but conflicted woman in love. Pearce’s script tells us that they know they make bad decisions because how far will you go for the one you love? As Colt asks Jody, “Where you going later? Want to go to a beach somewhere, drink a spicy margarita, make some bad decisions? ” Plenty of bad decisions will be made, but seeing this film won’t be one of them.

“The Fall Guy” Premiered at SXSW on 12 March 2024. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on 24 April 2024. Universal Pictures will release the film in the US and Canada on 3 May 2024. Be sure to stay for the mid-credits scenes.

If you want to get a sense of the original TV series, “The Fall Guy,” you can watch the first season on Amazon Prime Video. Although there are some notable actors who make appearances, you will likely not be impressed by the acting or the plots. These are stories about a stunt man who supplements his income with bounty hunting and each episode packs in as many expensive stunts as possible. The first episode includes car crashes and a helicopter taking a car to the top of a high plateau. Diversity isn’t a problem with the inclusion of African American good and bad guys.  The main cast, however, is White: Lee Majors as Colt Seavers, Douglas Barr as his younger cousin who wants to break into the glamorous stunt business,  Howie Munson, and Heather Thomas as Jody Banks, who is not Colt’s love interest but another stunt person under Colt’s tutelage.

Lee Majors, who also starred in “The Six Million Dollar Man” (1973-1978)  more recently appeared in eight episodes of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” as Brock Williams in 2016. Majors sang the theme song for “The Fall Guy” TV series which references his second wife Farrah Fawcett (1973-1982), Oscar-winner Sally Field, Bo Derek, Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood.  The film’s lyrics are not sung by Majors and have updated lyrics. Below are the original lyrics.

Well, I’m not the kind to kiss and tell, but I’ve been seen with Farrah
I’m never seen with anything less than a nine, so fine

I’ve been on fire with Sally Field, gone fast with a girl named Bo
But somehow they just don’t end up as mine
It’s a death defying’ life I lead,I take my chances

I die for a livin’ in the movies and TV
But the hardest thing I ever do is watch my leading ladies
Kiss some other guy while I’m bandaging my knee

I might fall from a tall building, I might roll a brand new car
’Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that made Redford such a star

I never spend much time in school but I taught ladies plenty
It’s true I hire my body out for pay, Hey Hey

I’ve gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch
But when I end up in the hay it’s only hay, Hey Hey
I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine
’Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine