I had never heard of the '80s TV series of the same title. Fortunately, this is only a loose adaptation, so it doesn't presuppose much knowledge. The only detail I know would have meant more to me with familiarity was a pair of cameos.
Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a beleaguered stuntman, most notably standing in for obnoxious actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). A particularly bad injury dissuades him from further stunts, until producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) asks him to work on the directorial debut of his ex-girlfriend, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Gail later confides that the invitation isn't really about the job: She wants him to track down the suspiciously absent Tom before the production fails. Colt always knew that Tom was troubled, but he doesn't anticipate what follows. Hint: The title has a double meaning.
Quite a few characters exhibit behavior that would utterly appall me in RL. Thankfully, Colt isn't one of them. This being directed by David Leitch, as I hadn't noticed before, their nastiness is often played for laughs.
The antics are pretty good, not least with Colt's impressive resourcefulness under pressure. The plot is more serviceable than smart. On the less testosterone-y side, my favorite element was the gradual reconciliation of Colt and Jody, mostly addressed indirectly but blatantly via cinematic talk.
Generally, I'd think it a mistake to watch two unrelated action comedies back to back. It's possible that Bad Boys made TFG look better to me by comparison, which could be good for my own entertainment but bad for my review judgment. Nevertheless, I stand by my above assessment. TFG is not a cultural phenomenon likely to be cited often in 15 years like Tropic Thunder, but neither is it eminently forgettable. I half-liked it, and I don't see anyone really disliking it.
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