“Did you fall?” A bit of fun today – but for adults only. “The Nice Guys” is an hilarious action comedy that Shane Black claims was partly influenced by “Withnail and I”. Black has made a career out of mismatched buddy comedy action movies. He wrote “Lethal Weapon” with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, “The Long Kiss Goodnight” with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, and wrote and directed “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer – all of which you should watch, especially the last one.
This is one of his most recent, that he co-wrote and also directed. It’s about another mismatched duo, played by Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe (who was in the other L.A. crime movie I posted – and is playing much the same character – even reuniting with Kim Basinger). Together they investigate a possible murder and a teenager’s disappearance.
It subverts a lot of the tropes of usual detective stories. The script is amazingly convoluted, completely surreal at times, and very funny. The direction is great, the recreation of L.A. in the seventies is beautiful, and both Crowe and Gosling are fantastic.
I also have to give a massive shout out to young Australian actress Angourie Rice who absolutely steals every scene she’s in as Gosling’s daughter. “Don’t say ‘…and stuff’”.
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