| The Nice Guys (2016) | |
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Rating: 7.4/10 (371,569 votes) Director: Shane Black Writer: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi Stars: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice Runtime: 116 min Rated: R Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime Released: 20 May 2016 |
| Plot: In 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star. | |
Shane Black is the guy responsible for some of the greatest buddy movies of the past few decades. Having been responsible for the first two Lethal Weapon films, The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and The Long Kiss Goodnight, his writing style is often witty, with flowing dialogue exchanges between the protagonists, and is often very knowing and self-referential about the action genre. When he took the step to direct with 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang he demonstrated an equal amount of talent behind the camera as he did in the writer’s chair. He dipped his toe in the water of big screen blockbuster direction with Iron Man 3 to a very mixed response – some fans loving his twists and turns, and plays with expectations, whilst others hated the surprises and deviations from the source material. Now, he returns to similar themes used in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with another hard-boiled genre film, The Nice Guys.
Set in 1977, the film starts with a bang as a porn star, named Misty Mountains, dies in a car crash, her final words seemingly random to the young boy who witnesses her death. A few days later, the story shifts to follow a bumbling private eye, Holland March (Ryan Gosling) who has been hired by the auntie of Misty to locate her as she believes she saw her after her death. A girl named Amelia might hold the secret to her whereabouts. At the same time an enforcer named Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) has been hired by Amelia to scare Holland away from finding her. After the pair collide, a third party come into play who are also seeking Amelia, which thrusts the unlikely duo to work together to find her before she is killed. As the film progresses other factors come to light, and reveal there is a lot more to the story of Misty Mountain’s death than would be assumed at face value.
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The film serves as a perfect companion piece to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, exploring many similar themes, drawing in multiple threads into a singular, twisting plot, and having the benefit of a fantastic pairing of actors in the lead roles. The rough edge, but gentle heart, of Crowe’s Jackson and the bumbling approach, and underhand nature of Gosling’s Holland pair well together, and as expected from a Shane Black film the dialogue spark between the pair, filled with digs and insults at times, is what really draws the audience in. Throw in Holland’s daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice), as a third component to the investigating team – and, it must be said, another great example of Black’s skill at crafting character tropes that usually become annoying, but in his hands lend well to the story – and the heart of the film is provided. The story weaves around this trio well, and flows naturally to a satisfying conclusion – albeit with a few genre breaking moments for good measure.
All the Shane Black tropes are present and correct, from the lead duo who initially oppose each other but grow to work well together, to kidnap, to inept villains, and even Christmas, and fans of his prior work will no doubt lap up every moment of screen time. But you don’t have to know Shane Black films to appreciate the film, as the excellent performances on screen, the witty banter, and the music and feel of the film draw you in early on.
At a time of year when the majority of films released are CGI fuelled, action packed extravaganzas, it is refreshing to have an old-school feel ‘buddy’ movie to remind us how a good story and great cast are far more important than threats of mass destruction, and decimation of national landmarks.
