Movie Review – The Nice Guys
The Nice Guys Poster
Director:
Shane Black
Cast:
Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling
Right off bat, we see that The Nice Guys is a pulpy, detective crime thriller set in the seedy world of Hollywood circa 1977. Writer/Director Shane Black returns to his roots with a buddy action comedy, also containing some of the most inappropriate jokes that could be considered mainstream.
Ryan Gosling stars as a private investigator tracking down a missing girl, and Russell Crowe stars as an “enforcer” that’s hired by a girl to stop shady guys from following her. Of course their cases get intertwined with each other and they must work together to solve the mystery.l if the missing girl. As the story unfolds, their investigation takes them around LA to some shady places and in contact with some even shadier people. Some of this is particularly shocking because these scenes involve the headstrong 12 year old daughter of Ryan Gosling’s character. She’s tagging along, trying to help her dad, kind of like a pre-teen Veronica Mars.
These two actors really shine as these lovable losers trying to make their way in the world, even while being screw ups. Special mention goes to Ryan Gosling, his character is completely ridiculous and hysterical. He gets some of the best lines and he knocks them out the park.
I felt movie did drag a little in the middle as the mystery was starting to unravel, but once all of the players are revealed, and the action scenes of the third act kick into gear, this is a funny, violent, and sometimes visually shocking crime thriller. I enjoyed it very much, If you’re a fan of Shane Black’s 2005 “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”, then this should be right up your alley.
