Screenwriter Shane Black of Lethal Weapon fame makes his directorial debut with this film noir. Robert Downey, Jr., stars as Harry Lockhart, a petty thief in New York City who quite literally stumbles into acting and soon finds himself in Los Angeles to test for a film role as a private detective. To help Harry prepare, his new agent arranges for him to shadow a gay private investigator, Perry van Shrike also known as 'Gay Perry' (Val Kilmer). But when Perry takes Harry along on a simple job for a mystery client, the two witness the disposal of a dead body, and the game suddenly becomes serious. Adding to the intrigue is Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), a beautiful and smart-as-a-whip wannabe starlet with whom Harry is so smitten that he pretends to be a real detective. Soon Harry, Perry, and Harmony are tangled in a life-threatening web of dead bodies, deception, and treachery.