A heartbroken woman sorrowfully sings “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins as the man she has feelings for, who she thinks has left the country, passes by outside engaged in a fight in a dump truck.

Ladies and gentlemen, action romantic comedies are back.

Now some of you will argue that they never left. True. However, there has been a slew of bad star-driving action rom-coms of late. Chris Evans and Ana de Armas had us wishing we could vanish during Ghosted. Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel’s Shotgun Wedding needed a speedy annulment, and Role Play couldn’t keep up the charade despite Kaley Cucco and David Oyelowo’s valiant efforts.

These films, and the countless others of their ilk, either lacked chemistry amongst their leads, took themselves far too seriously, or featured plots that were too convoluted for their own good.

Thankfully, we are starting to see signs of a heartbeat in a genre that seemed close to flatlining. Indie darling Hit Man and Love Lies Bleeding, the latter is not a comedy but fits the action romance part, are steaming up the screens and racking up rave reviews in the process. In the blockbuster realm, Twisters (while I was not a fan, others loved it) and The Fall Guy, with the aforementioned karaoke scene, have shown it’s still possible to combine a charming romance with a healthy dose of destruction and explosions.

Of the big budget works, it is David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, which arrives on Blu-ray this week, which renews my faith the most.

Adapting the classic ’80s television show of the same name, which ran for five seasons, The Fall Guy follows a professional stuntman named Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) whose career is derailed after an accident on set. However, he is lured back into the world of stunts when a movie producer, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), needs his help to track down a missing actor, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor Johnson), that he used to do stunts for. Of course, finding Ryder is only part of the reason he is back on set. Seavers main goal is to try and rekindle the spark he once had with Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), who happens to be directing the film Ryder is starring in.

As Seavers stumbles down the cinematic hole of murder and intrigue, Leitch’s film takes plenty of glee using the central romance to aid in the deconstruction of how films are made.

Much of the discussion surrounding the film upon its theatrical release focused on two things. The first was its less than stellar opening weekend box office. This caused the studio to release the film to VOD a few short weeks after its theatrical debut. The other point of conversation was related to the film’s blunt critique of stunt people and/or teams not being recognized by the Academy Awards.

While I wholeheartedly agree that the unsung heroes who risk their lives to help make iconic action sequences should be household names. I think its too short sighted to merely focus on Oscar glory. Every film awards body should be incorporating a category to honour this vital part of cinema, however, much like comedy is rarely considered for Best Picture, it will take time for views to change.

Time it seems is something that will hopefully turn out to be favourable to The Fall Guy. Despite not be afforded the time to build an audience in theatres, as film releases are not treat like a 100 meter sprint than a leisurely marathon, audiences looking for a fun date night movie will now have another chance to discover the film’s charms.

For all its great action set pieces, including an epic car barrel role, it is the scenes that directly related to Seavers and Moreno’s relationship that provide the biggest laughs. The Fall Guy may be an ode to stunt work, but at its core it is a film about second chances. Something that not many people are afforded. If you missed it in theatres, now is a good time to fall in love with this fun action rom-com.

The Fall Guy arrived on Blu-ray on July 23.

Bonus Features: Gag Reel; Alternative Takes; Stunts on Stunts: Breaking Down the Action; Making a Meta Masterpiece; How to Break a World Record; Nightclub Mayhem; The Art of Doubling; Making Metalstrom; Falling for The Fall Guy with Bob Reese; Feature Commentary with Director/Producer David Leitch and Producer Kelly McCormick

Get Physical is a regular column featuring ramblings loosely inspired by the latest physical media releases.