It’s not “LA Confidential”, but “The Nice Guys” is smart, funny and a treat to watch. Detective movies have been around for a very long time that it’s bracing to still find one with the smarts to laugh at itself, not to mention the 1970’s recreation that is so remarkably good, from costuming to the inviting atmosphere. Director Shane Black has covered familiar territory before in the 2005 movie “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (a massively underrated film in my opinion), but he has managed to win me over once again here. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe play a pair of detectives investigating the disappearance of a female porn star. Since Shane Black wrote screenplays for such movies as “Lethal Weapon” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight” back in the 90’s, you can expect a lot of fast-paced scenes and tons of outrageous jokes. And while the jokes are hit and miss, the movie does get a fair share of laughs, starting with the two leads. Crowe and Gosling have chemistry, and they keep you hanging and laughing, even when the plot stops making sense at one point. You won’t get more from “The Nice Guys”, just enough to keep you entertained and make you leave the theater with a silly grin on your face. Allow it.
Rating: 3/4
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Categories: 3/4, action, comedy, crime, The Twenty-First Century
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I loved the movie while some people with me didn’t. I don’t know if i’m missing a vibe here but i found it super satyrical. The fact that the plot is expected and they’re making jokes about projecting themselves in the future (the 5 year japanese car joke) and they discover in the 70’s that nothing is going to change and you just replace a corporate person with another and that the death of a lot of people won’t change anything about the world while doing it in a funny way (porn star suicide, drunk most of the time detective, smart underage daughter..) is what made me find it satyrical and sarcastic. I’m not sure a lot of people are going to like it because they’ll miss the whole point ( in my opinion).
I agree I know a lot of people who didn’t fully appreciate it. It reminded me of Starsky and Hutch in a way and I’m a sucker for the 1970’s era. It’s also quite funny. It’s definitely one of those movies I would watch again on TV. Cheers for your input Nour!