The Nice Guys: Movie Review

When a film is released that was written by Shane Black, I automatically get super excited, especially when that film is a buddy-cop/detective flick.  Black wrote not only the “Lethal Weapon” films, but also “The Last Boy Scout”, “The Long Kiss Goodnight”, and superb “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (which he also directed).   His latest film, “The Nice Guys” may not be his best film, but it is still a fun throwback to the types of action-comedy awesomeness that I grew up with.

Set in 1970’s Los Angeles, down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) become unlikely partners when they realize they are both searching for the same missing girl.   It turns out, they aren’t the only ones looking for Amelia (Margaret Qualley) either.  A couple of hitmen (Keith David and Beau Knapp) are also on the hunt, as well as Amelia’s mother (Kim Basinger) who hired Holland and Jackson to find her. They soon realize that Amelia’s vanishing is somehow connected to the death of a porn star named Misty Mountains and some very powerful people might be trying to cover their tracks.

“The Nice Guys” does tend to lag in areas which has never been an issue with previous films from Black, but there is so much to like here, that I can overlook some of the flaws.  Gosling and Crowe are terrific together.  The laughs may not be as frequent, but when they come, they come hard.  Black does a great job surprising the audience, especially when he is surprising his characters.  In one of the film’s funniest moments, Holland stumbles onto a dead body in the woods, in a way that reminded me of the dead body in the bathroom scene from “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”.  Black’s best influence is himself.

“The Nice Guys” is vulgar, violent, and bloody, but never takes itself seriously.  Fans of Black should find plenty to enjoy here and hopefully these nice guys will return for a sequel.

By: Marc Ferman