Dulneth.P

9/10

==Day 8 of Ryan Gosling Binge== >- "Are you willing to find god?" - "I'm trying to find Amelia" Buddy cop movies easily stumble and fall into cliches, but this? This was cinematic art. "The Nice Guys" emerges as a breath of fresh air, not just as a buddy cop movie, but as a comedy in general too. While it may not showcase groundbreaking performances from Ryan or Russell, I thoroughly enjoyed watching them. Ryan's goofy laugh and the comedic timing were gold, complemented by Russell's blend of silliness and grit, forming an amazing bond between the two characters. The chemistry between them was epic. The filmmaking and the plot are not the main focus of the movie, which was perfectly fine by me. While it's not a technically impressive movie, everything else works. The characters, the dialogue, the comedy, and even the action were well handled without overdoing them and making it overly absurd and stupid. "The Nice Guys" carefully defies the cliche genre tropes and doesn't shy away from being dark and funny. Definitely not a movie you go into expecting a Shakespearean plot or story. Instead, it's something you go in for the laughs, and you won't be disappointed. The Nice Guys- 8.5/10 Ryan Gosling- 8.3/10

Whitsbrain

9/10

I don't spend much time with new comedies simply because they are more mean-spirited than funny and I get tired of non-stop dick and poop jokes. I can watch a Horror movie or gritty crime drama and not be put off by the cruelty, but I know those are going to be nasty going in. I want to laugh at something funny someone said or did and not because an uncomfortable sexual, racial or political situation makes you squirm with a nervous release of a giggle or two. So I took a chance on wasting a couple of hours on "The Nice Guys" based on some pretty encouraging recommendations. It was a wise choice. "The Nice Guys" is an odd couple sort of tale. I like that it's not a cop movie but just a couple of guys that are wannabe detectives. I'd heard a lot about Ryan Gosling being great in this and he was as a bumbling, drinking stooge that accidentally helps solve the case. But Russell Crowe was really the center of the film. His character hates what he is. He's brutal, but his heart is golden. His interactions with Holland's (Gosling) daughter Holly are touching. Crowe isn't a straight-man to Gosling goofball, though. Jackson Healy (Crowe) is a screw-up in his own right. He just happens to be street-smart and tough as nails. There is some nudity and violence in this but it never got gratuitous. The story was entertaining and there were some other small supporting characters that gave Crowe and Gosling plenty to play off of. Maybe they caught lightning in a jar when they coupled these two actors together. Given this is a Shane Black film, maybe it'll span a sequel or two much like "Lethal Weapon" did. But even if it doesn't, I'd bet this movie will become more popular in the coming years. It seems like it will be endlessly re-watchable and quote worthy.

drqshadow

7/10

A buddy cop throwback in more ways than one, The Nice Guys follows a pair of mismatched private eyes in pursuit of a grand conspiracy that connects everything from porno to the auto industry. It revels in the late-70s setting, poking fun at the fashion, décor, celebrity and personal habits of the era, but at heart it feels a touch more modern. I was struck, repeatedly, at the tonal similarities to the Lethal Weapon franchise, so it was with no great shock that I discovered Nice Guys' director, Shane Black, made his first bucks as a screenwriter for those Mel Gibson action/comedies. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are the new Gibson and Glover, an odd couple whose pursuit of the truth (and the accompanying payoff, naturally) only barely supersedes their grumbling dislike for one another. Crowe is the anchor, your typical gruff exterior with a warm, chewy center, but Gosling steals the show as his loopy, desperate, unpredictable counterpart. They both get some strong one-liners (and one spectacular silent team-up gag in an elevator), but for my money, Gosling does more with his. The plot never fully recovers from a risky swerve at the end of the second act, and it plays the pesky kid tagalong card way too often, but it's not trying to be fine art and such missteps sometimes go with the territory. It is what it sets out to be, for better or worse. I enjoyed myself.

Bollogg

8/10

Spoilers

The Nice Guys is a surprisingly decent movie and a great comedy. Now, mind you it is still a comedy and doesn't aim to have a deeper meaning, but it is very good for what it is trying to be. The movie starts off pretty silly and therefore sets the tone quite well. Flashy neon titles appear on the screen, indicating the time and place we are in and then we follow a young boy, stealing a porn magazine, when a car crashes through the house and said pornstar appears in front of him, dying in the exact pose as depicted in his magazine. It is very clear that this movie is not meant to be taken seriously and it doesn't shy away from showing raw nudity or violence, take it as a heads-up, if you will. Next, we are introduced to our character in the stereotypical narrative style complete with fitting background music and a montage of what our down-on-their-luck protagonists do. Healy, played by Russell Crowe, is an enforcer, who likes to compare himself to a private investigator. He is ruthless and brutal, but he has a sweet core and in the end actually longs to do good, as we will see later in the film. What's so satisfying about this character is that he acts absolutely professional and holds himself back, never hurting anyone more than he has to, yet he never seems like a psychopath. March, played by Ryan Gosling, however, actually is a private investigator, but not a very good one. He cheats, he lies and he folds very easily. Nevertheless, he is not an unlikable character due to the wonderful relationship with his daughter Holly. Now, usually what this sort of buddy-comedy does is pair two completely opposite characters with another to create tension and laughter in their different approaches. Yet, in this movie they are pretty similar persons. Both are ruthless dunks, doing pretty much the same thing, only one has an actual license and is much less qualified, tho not useless...sometimes. There is usually one or two things that drive every movie and here it clearly is the chemistry between our three protagonists, if you count Holly. Their relationships seem to evolve more naturally than in most comedies, nothing feels forced, all earned. Now, onto Holly. She is a thirteen years old girl, who talks and acts like an adult and, to everyone's surprise, the actor, Angourie Rice, can actually pull it off. Instead of being an annoying dead-weight, she actually helps with their tasks in quite a funny way. Her open, honest relationship with her dad, March, probably is where most of the hilarious moments stem from. Even though the plot is not actually so important, it is quite interesting to see unfold. You do wonder what happens next and the fight-scenes, as well as the shootouts are thrilling. All in all, there is little reason not to watch this movie, if you don't mind comedies and the occasional nudity, vulgarity and violence. The atmosphere of a 70s Los Angeles is pretty convincingly conveyed, the humour is spot on and the plot is interesting and gripping enough, but most of all the chemistry between the main characters are the heart and soul of this movie.

John Chard

0/10

Waltons, Poronography, Tricky Dicky, Hitler, Equanimity, Bumble Bees ... And Stuff! The Nice Guys is directed by Shane Black and Black co-writes the screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi. It stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling and Angourie Rice. Music is by John Ottman and David Buckley and cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. 1977 Los Angeles and a private detective and a muscle for hire enforcer wind up on the same case looking for a missing girl. Can opposites really attract? More importantly, can they survive not just the perils of a case that gets murkier the longer it goes on? But also each other? I don't care if Colonel Mustard did it in the study with a candlestick. I just wanna know who he did it with and get the pictures. How wonderful to have had Shane Black back in his comfort zone and producing such a joyful buddy buddy neo-noir of considerable substance. It was eleven years since the superb Kiss Kiss Bang Bang had reminded us that Black had few peers when it came to blending high action macho twosomes who are also armed with sharp tongues to match, this was after all the guy who also penned Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. The idea for The Nice Guys had sat in gestation for a number of years, finally it was unleashed to reward fans of his work and for those in sync with the style of film making he homages. Much like his other buddy scriptings, we are in the company of two mismatched guys. Gosling's ex-cop Holland March is a bit goofy, afraid of the sight of blood and morally bankrupt. Crowe's muscle for hire Jackson Healy beats people up for money, but he's a stand-up guy, likes his pet fish, even has a hero streak. What binds them together is troubled family baggage, that they are both men in search of a better world, to be better men themselves, and thus Black - to give them a chance of life improvement - pitches them into the seamy underbelly of the L.A. pornography industry - with some corruption elsewhere thrown into the equation. As a coupling March and Healy prove to be a riot. Crowe is menacing and funny with it, Gosling is affably flaky but charm personified, and thankfully both men have a knack for visual comedy (see Gosling's Lou Costello homage and Crowe's reaction to a henchman's act of fish murder). Crucially both actors can deliver killer lines, which is an absolute must for a Shane Black inspired production, for here there is never any let up, zingers are unbound. Then there is Rice (superb and actually the third lead in the play) as March's 13 year old daughter, she's got youthful zest and a killer matter of fact skill in reacting smartly to the two men currently dominating her life. The L.A. of the 70s is expertly designed, all blink blink blinkity blink neon lighting, side-burns and disco music, dubious fashions and protest groups protesting about the most mundane of things. Then you got the pornography angle, the 70s a hot-bed (no pun intended) for the sex sells profiteers, the perfect setting for Black to trawl through it all in noir clobber. As a noir piece it has it all, femme fatales, thugs, conspiracies, voice overs and an array of colourfully odd characters (excitable and troubling henchmen, a porno Pinocchio, a young lad willing to flash the contents of his underpants for cash!). And of course there's mysteries to be solved and rocks to be upturned, all of which is played out in a whirl of stylish violence, situational comedy and fluid camera work. Black kind of wants it all, to stay cool whilst having wry observations on the Americana of the era, and he enjoys going close to the knuckle when he can, which to some (not me) will come off as a shock value humour tactic just to ruffle feathers. It's also a minor itch that he sort of snatches from his previous works in search of reassurance - note for instance the similarities between the opening to Lethal Weapon and here with The Nice Guys. But itches be damned, so much fun and hidden dramatic depth on show here, a real treasure that makes you wish Black would stroll down neo-noir lane a bit more often. Don't believe me? Then may Richard Nixon come after you the next time you go for a swim in the pool! 9/10