How a Jackal-Breath Kiss Made Robert Downey Jr. Hate His Perfect Christmas Movie

Some movie moments become classics because the scene itself sings. Others stick around because the actors won’t stop clowning on what it took to get there. The kiss in Shane Black’s 2005 crime-comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is very much the latter: a tiny beat on screen, a giant running joke off it.

The kiss, the breath, the bit that never dies

During press for the film, Robert Downey Jr. (yes, the MCU guy) and Val Kilmer told IGN that their quick smooch turned into a comedy routine between them. Kilmer teased that he loved doing it and that Downey wouldn’t stop griping about it. Downey, for his part, took the complaint to a very specific place:

"He smelled like the breath of a jackal. I don’t know why he saved jackal breath for our kissing scene."

None of this is serious beef; it’s two pros turning a blink-and-you-miss-it moment into a bit. But the bit landed so well it practically became the movie’s most famous behind-the-scenes story.

Kilmer’s take: great time, would do again (with one condition)

Back in 2005, Kilmer told The Guardian he had zero issues with the kiss and would happily run it back — as long as his partner was Downey. He joked it was Downey or no one, put it in the contract. He even compared Downey to Colin Farrell (another co-star he’d kissed on screen) and said Downey came out on top. Kilmer described Farrell’s approach as a little tongue-forward and grabby, with the kind of shrug that says: you see him, you get it.

So why is it a Christmas movie again?

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is set in sunbaked Los Angeles, which does not scream hot cocoa and snowdrifts. But Shane Black loves using the holidays as a backdrop, and this one is drenched in lights, carols, and plastic cheer while everything else spirals. The plot follows Harry Lockhart (Downey), a small-time thief who stumbles into a murder mystery during the holidays, teams up with razor-sharp private eye Gay Perry (Kilmer), and trips over his old crush Harmony (Michelle Monaghan). It’s all crime, chaos, and Hollywood weirdness under a blanket of tinsel.

The contrast is the point. The movie pairs festive imagery with dark humor, violence, and a very LA kind of loneliness. Like a lot of Black’s work, Christmas isn’t warm here — it’s ironic. That’s why this thing has slowly shifted from sleeper to cult favorite and why it plays so well as an offbeat December watch.

• Quick facts: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), directed by Shane Black; cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Dash Mihok, and Corbin Bernsen; 1h 43m; Rotten Tomatoes sits at 86%; available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.

If you need a holiday palate cleanser between sugar cookies and schmaltz, this is it. And since we’re here: what’s your favorite Christmas moment in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?