12 Movie Characters Who KNEW They Were In Movies
5. Harry & Perry In Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Shane Black's directorial debut is a black comedy starring RDJ and Val Kilmer, two then washed up actors, with a hard-boiled detective-style plot. Set at Christmas, like basically every film written by Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys) and full of quips and fun turns of phrase, it's a typical example of Black's knowingness, and utility of genre tropes.
In a move similar to what Downey does in Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bangs' narration is somewhat contextualised at the end of the movie. In Iron Man, he's in analysis with Bruce Banner, but in this movie, he initially appears to be talking to a camcorder mounted on a desk, video diary style.
Val Kilmer's character walks up, and RDJ says he's wrapping up the movie for the viewer, explicitly calling out the fact they're in a movie. Kilmer's character even tells us to stay for the end credits and that the Best Boy is probably someone's nephew. They stay in character throughout, with Kilmer reaching over to turn the camera off to end the movie.