THE NICE GUYS
Directed by Shane Black
Screenplay by Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi
Starring Russell Crowe; Ryan Gosling; and Angourie Rice
Holland (Ryan Gosling), who is a kind of a swindler and a kind of a showy private eye. Jackson (Russell Crowe) a kind of sloppy tough guy private eye. They team up to try to find the reason for the suicide of Misty Mountains a porn star in 1977, and the connection her suicide may relate to some other person they are looking for.
Right to the point. This film is very funny and entertaining. So far one of the best acted and written film of the year so far.
What works?
Black and Bargozzi's script. They do a great job walking that tightrope between comedy and action and mystery.
Shane Black as the director, brings us into the 70's. A time where there are no cellphones, so investigations meant a lot of leg work. Also a time where parties with way too many drugs were being used and trying to get information from people at said party is a job within itself.
Then we come to some fantastic performances:
Crowe is wonderful playing Jackson. He is overweight and almost downtrodden. He is a big star who is okay playing the straight-man to Gosling. Gosling as Holland is so over the top funny as a single dad and investigator. He is a caring father and at the same time an awful father. He straddles the line of being almost smart to being just comical. Crowe and Gosling have the best chemistry in a comedy action film maybe since Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon movies.
Final note ...... Angourie Rice as Holly, Holland's daughter!!!! Wow, she seems to steal many scenes from the two leads. Lets face it, that is saying something when she is acting with two of Hollywood's best actors. She was so spot on I had to look her up to see what else she has done because she comes across almost fearless acting with these two stars. She really has not been in many films to scream about. She is a find!!
The film gets a little loose and odd at the end but I still loved it. 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars for The Nice Guys. Just a fun time in the theater. Plus, they left it open for a sequel.
As always thanks for your time from the shadows.
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