The Nice Guys

The Nice Guys (2016)

Director: Shane Black

Writers: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Yaya DaCosta, Keith David, Beau Knapp, Lois Smith, Murielle Telio, Kim Basinger, Jack Kilmer

Synopsis: 

Holland March (Gosling), a down-on-his-luck private investigator, teams up with local enforcer Jack Healy (Crowe) to locate the porn star Misty Mountains (Telio), who was supposedly killed in a car crash a few days beforehand. However, Misty's aunt Mrs. Glenn (Smith), swears she saw her in her apartment after her supposed death and hires March to find her. During their investigation, March and Healy uncover a massive criminal conspiracy and must contend with hired goons, a professional hitman and, of course, March's drinking problem. Hilarity ensues.

First Impressions:

I saw this film in theaters when it was released a few years ago. I've always been a fan of Shane Black's writing, and I didn't want to pass up the chance to see a movie both written and directed by him. Being a fan of Black's, I was not disappointed with the film and enjoyed it a great deal. I thought it hearkened back to the original Lethal Weapon (also written by Black) by effortlessly combining action and comedy. I picked it up on Blu-Ray as soon as I could, and it's a film I return to fairly often. I'm excited to see how it stands up to my Critical Eye™ (not actually trademarked). Anyway, let's get to the review.

Story/Direction: 

"So you're telling me you made a porno where the plot is the point?"

The story in this film kind of goes in a few different directions, and you're not exactly sure where it's going for about the first 45 minutes. The plot focuses on the search for a missing girl, with some mistaken identity thrown in, as well as a bit of a mystery. The film sticks with March and Healy throughout most of the run time, and there's no cutting to the villains or anything like that. As a result, the audience is left to figure things out at the same time as the heroes. This is par for the course with movies written by Black, even in films where there isn't really an underlying mystery. The heroes are set to a seemingly ordinary task or investigation, spiraling into something bigger as the plot progresses. The story itself may be a tad convoluted, but not so much that it gets frustrating or tedious.

The film is also paced very well and its runtime of nearly 2 hours just fly by, but it doesn't feel rushed. Since the focus remains on the heroes, the story can unfold quickly without the audience feeling something is missing. If I had one quibble, it's that maybe some of the finer story details could have been fleshed out a little better as far as motivations and whatnot. I'd cite some examples but to do so would veer into spoiler territory, so I'll let you discover them for yourself. 

While the film's story is certainly enjoyable, the main draw (for me at least) is Black's skill at writing a great action movie. I've always been a fan of the way Balck writes dialogue. It's sharp, dryly funny, and even though characters in his films don't really talk like a real person would, it works within the context of the movie. Black also has a talent for creating interesting characters to populate his films with. March and Healy are, of course, interesting characters being the primary protagonists. But much like Ridley Scott, Black gives the audience lots of interesting and fleshed-out side characters, which makes his films so much more enjoyable. In this film, we have March's teenaged daughter Holly (Rice), who takes on an almost parental role towards her alcoholic father, and we see her frequently driving him around, even though she's only 13 or 14 years old. There's also Blueface (Knapp) and Older Guy (David), the primary goons working for the villains. While not given an abundance of background, these two characters ooze personality, making them enjoyable to watch. 

Acting/Characters:

As I said in the section above, this movie has many fun and exciting characters played by able actors. Starting with the heroes March and Healy, played by Gosling and Crowe, respectively. I've never been a big fan of Ryan Gosling, as I've always found him to be a tad wooden. However, I really enjoyed his performance in The Nice Guys. He has an incredibly dry wit and a fantastic sense of comic timing that works really well with Black's style of humor. Surprisingly he also has a gift for physical comedy that one wouldn't expect, given his track record. As a bonus, his chemistry with Crowe was really one of the movie's high points.

Speaking of Crowe, he does a great job sharing the spotlight with his younger co-star. If the two were a flat-out comedy duo, Cropwe would play the role of the straight man, with Gosling playing the wacky guy. Crowe's Healy is the standard laconic tough guy with a heart of gold...well, maybe not gold... a heart of silver, maybe? Bronze, perhaps? But I digress. Like Gosling, Crowe shows off some decent comedic chops, which is also a step away from the intense hero roles he usually plays. All told fine performances from both leads.

The rest of the cast, like I mentioned earlier, are all terrific and quirky, with the aforementioned Keith David and Beau Knapp playing the secondary antagonists well. Angourie Rice does a great job as March's daughter Holly, who has seen and done way more than a kid her age should have (particularly in 1977). Kim Basinger does a good job as the straight-laced U.S. Attorney Judith Kuttner and Jack Kilmer (who I just found out is Val's kid) impresses as the dopey and spaced-out projectionist Chet. 

Visual/Special Effects:

Much of the visual effects in the movie are pyrotechnic in nature, which...you know. However, being set in 1970s Los Angeles, there's some subtle CGI work to make the city appears as if it did 40+ years ago. There's also some more overt CGI (though it might be animatronics) involving a giant killer bee smoking a cigarette, which looks pretty darn good. Of course, being set in the past, costumes play a significant role in the film, and I'm sure the costume department raided every retro used clothing store in California to make sure the actors looked like they belonged in 1977. 

Score/Music:

David Buckley and Jon Ottman were responsible for the film's music. The score does a good job at dating the movie with disco beats and rhythms that fit in well with the period and the backdrop of the adult film industry that the film is set against (don't ask me how I know that). The film also makes good use of popular hits from the time, including Papa Was a Rolling Stone by The Temptations, Kiss's Rock and Roll All Nite, and the classic Jive Talkin' by the Bee Gees, to name a few. 

Action:

There's a fair amount of action in this film, like any good Shane Black film, and it's done pretty well for the most part. There's a few good firefight scenes, as well as a bunch of fistfights, all done with Black's signature style of comedy. The final shootout, in particular, is done really well and is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the film. Although, one thing I did notice was a distinct lack of car chases, or really any chase scenes at all. It doesn't take away from the film at all, just a bit of an oddity in this day and age. 

Final Verdict:

I still love this film. It's funny and well-paced and keeps the audience engaged. Sadly, it's the type of film that doesn't get made much nowadays as it's not associated with an existing franchise. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun action movie to enjoy on a cold winter's night (or any night, really).