THE NICE GUYS review by Mark Walters – Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling solve 70s crime

THE NICE GUYS review by Mark Walters – Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling solve 70s crime
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Shane Black has already proven himself to be one of the strongest screenwriters in Hollywood, and he’s quickly becoming one of the most desired directors as well. The filmmaker’s newest effort behind the camera is THE NICE GUYS, his third after the exceptional KISS KISS BANG BANG and IRON MAN 3. Where Black excels is in buddy comedy fare, like LETHAL WEAPON or THE LAST BOY SCOUT. In THE NICE GUYS, the story is set against the backdrop of 1977 Los Angeles, and in many ways the film feels like something right out of that era.

Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a Private Detective and single father raising his young daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) in sometimes questionable ways. He’s hired to investigate the apparent suicide of a porn star, which leads him to the hunt for a missing girl, but he’s soon visited by an enforcer named Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) which throws a wrench into the proceedings. These two eventually realize they must work together to get to the bottom of what’s really going on, and there’s a few hit men popping up that really don’t want them to succeed.

The most interesting and pleasing aspect of THE NICE GUYS is the casting of Ryan Gosling, who here plays very against type as a bumbling and naive sort of loser. It’s really fun watching Gosling ham it up for the camera, even drawing upon classic comedy elements and selling the character with perfection. He’s an inspired choice for the role, and it reminded me a lot of the early comedic performances of Nicolas Cage in movies like RAISING ARIZONA. Russell Crowe is looking a lot different these days from what many might remember him for. Wearing more than a few extra pounds, he also feels right at home as the slovenly tough guy enforcer, but unlike Gosling his performance is pretty much what you’d expect. He never wows us, just works well in the role, and the chemistry between the two leads really helps carry the material. Angourie Rice is also great as Gosling’s daughter in the piece. Shane Black seems to like writing in kids, and her role is effective without feeling like it’s pandering to the audience. She holds her own with the more seasoned performers in just about every scene. Perhaps the only misfire is Kim Basinger, who has been strangely absent from bigger movies in recent years. Her obvious facial work and stiff performance dulls what could have been a rather interesting character, and makes the reading fairly forgettable. Matt Bomer shows up briefly in the latter portion of the film as a calculating hit man, and barely brushes the surface with becoming a great movie villain, just missing the magic needed to really sell the role.

Where KISS KISS BANG BANG seemed to flow and excel at being snappy and engaging, THE NICE GUYS trips over itself a bit while being consistently entertaining. It perfectly captures the look and feel of 1977, but I couldn’t help wondering how many in the audience would really appreciate that side of it. The nearly two-hour running time feels a lot longer thanks to some awkward pacing (again, not unlike movies from the 70s), keeping the end result from feeling terribly memorable. But all in all it’s still a lot of fun, and has some of the classic Shane Black charm the should make repeat viewings pleasurable. What I adored most about it was how unconventional some of the scenes played out toward the end. People die you don’t expect to, and others you think will surely perish end up living, and the ending is anything but typical for this type of movie. But it’s these things that might actually upset some audiences, as these days people want everything wrapped up nice and neat. While it’s not near being Black’s best film to date, it’s a solid entry that proves he’s still got the right touch.

THE NICE GUYS opens May 20, 2016

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About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.