The Nice Guys (2016)

Ten years ago, legendary writer/director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3) put out his latest original vision of yet another buddy cop action comedy, this time taking place in 1970's Los Angeles.  The pairing was inspired: a drunken private detective (Ryan Gosling) teams up with a tough guy enforcer (Russell Crowe) to solve both a missing person mystery and an unsolved murder.  And the plot just gets increasingly convoluted from there involving the auto industry, porn, and organized crime....both violent and funny complications ensue!  The stellar cast of this now beloved cult classic also includes Kim Basinger, Margaret Qualley, Matt Bomer, and Keith David.   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

THE NICE GUYS - 2016

Directed by Shane Black

Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Anjourie Rice, Keith David, Matt Bomer, Yaya DaCosta, Margaret Qualley, Beau Knapp, Lois Smith, Murielle Telio, Gil Gerard, Daisy Tahan, and Kim Basinger

Genre: Buddy Action Comedy 

This was actually funnier and more clever than I remembered when first seeing it in theaters....when I think I liked it but just found it nastier than expected. 🤔 It's a bit overlong, the plot is more complicated than it needs to be, and this being pure 100% UNCUT street-level Shane Black (who wrote and directed it)...it just goes pretty damn dark for a retro action comedy attempting to maintain a breezy tone. However THESE two leads together are unassailably fantastic and that makes it worthwhile! Aging, overweight, bearish Russell Crowe has never been better at this stage of this career - it even helps him sell his closing this exchange of dialogue with Gosling towards the end:

"At least you're drinking again..."

"Yeah...I feel great." 

The satisfied expression on Crowe's face when he utters that last line is just PRICELESS. 😆 Crowe plays Jackson who's basically a thug for hire while Gosling plays Holland who's a private detective....and together they become embroiled in a convoluted missing person's plot which becomes part of something much bigger involving murder, porn, the automobile industry, and pollution. 🙄 

The rest of the supporting cast fortunately is having fun including Keith David and Matt Bomer as stylish assassins, the lovely Yaya DaCosta (why didn't she have a bigger career after this?) as a double-crossing bagman/assistant to the DA, and...stealing EVERY one of her scenes, Angourie Rice as the beleaguered-yet-wise teenage daughter of Gosling's Holland who is seemingly tagging along every-time he's out on the case. No doubt wisecracking smaller sidekicks have become a reliable trope which Shane Black can now write in his sleep....but when the writing and performance are this good, who's complaining? :) 

This silent moment is just played brilliantly by both actors and there's plenty more where that came from....especially from Gosling who is just striking comic gold playing such a clumsy coward for most the film. His clueless facial expressions, his droll delivery, the stache, this Dom Deluise-like wheezing he pulls off, and even just enough hints of genuine pathos...it's a genuinely great performance seemingly right out of a Coen Brothers neo-noir. 🤗 Speaking of which, how has Gosling NOT worked with the Coens as of yet?? 

Overall this is worth watching JUST for Crowe and Gosling playing off of each other. GOOD buddy comedy duos are actually much more difficult to pull off than most people think and these two just make it look easy! If only, they were able to earn a sequel....

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):

As they are pushing the mid ‘70’s retro vibe HARD, the soundtrack for this film is just LOADED with notable ‘70’s classics from all of the usual suspects, most of which have been heard in other films.  But most of these songs are still bangers and certainly period appropriate from the likes of Captain & Tennille, The Temptations, The Bee Gee’s, Kiss, The Band, and…..you just have to right?  Earth Wind & Fire… (Audio clip) 

If I had to choose one standout needle-drop which stands out the most, I’m always a sucker for a strong song to close out the film once the credits kick in…put you in a NICE groove as you leave the theater.  And who better than Forrest City, Arkansas’ OWN favorite son, a true LIVING legend…I swear I was SO ready to say the late, great but son of a bitch, he’s still going strong at 80 years old as of this recording!  A true pioneer of soul, R&B, and gospel…inductee of the Rock & the Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he’s now even an ordained minister, I’m referring to Albert Leornes Greene….most famously known as Al Green, author of SO many great songs! (Audio clip)   

So yes right after a spirited exchange between our two lead protagonists as they agree to start a detective agency together – a lovely sequel set-up for a sequel which would never happen – no matter because as the credits kick in, we hear a true, md-tempo gem from his 1973 album, “I’m Still In Love With You.”  The song features a great mixture of guitar, horns, and 1950’s gospel organ - it’s the eternally groovy, “Love and Happiness.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Kim Basinger plays a shady DA (I think) at the top of this conspiracy though beyond the initial kick of a LA Confidential mini-reunion with her former co-star Crowe, not much comes of it. You also have a younger The Leftovers-era Margaret Qualley as her daughter/missing MacGuffin though she's not given much to do either.  I would say of the two, Basinger is probably wasted more as she’s just playing this role DEAD-serious and feels as if she’s in a completely different movie. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Like I said, the overall plot gets more twisty and grimmer as the body count keeps rising...though admittedly, this is VERY effectively played for laughs during one high-rise sequence about half-way through. 😁 Both Jackson and Holland take an elevator up to the penthouse of a hotel to follow a lead....when as their door opens up on the floor, they see the bloody aftermath of at least three folks getting roughed up by the mob in the hallway. And THEN after briefly poking their heads out just briefly to witness this, they just cower RIGHT back into that elevator and head right back down!   This sequence is both tense and VERY funny. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

I can remember when this came out ten years ago, SO many folks were surprised that it didn’t do well at the box office….not sure why, this film was very much a throwback to a big studio formula which more consistently successful in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s pairing up one star who was clearly past his peak and another star who had always struggled to open a film on his own.  That said, it was STILL an inspired pairing and while I think the overall movie which they’re in is a bit overlong and overstuffed, the chemistry between these two is undeniable.  And for that reason, Ryan Gosling AND Russell Crowe are your CO-MVP’s. (Audio clip)  

Final Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

Yeah in recent years, the original buddy copy genre has become pretty dormant….but I ALWAYS enjoy them when they occasionally come back and they’re done well: The Other Guys, 21 Jump Street, and The Heat have been the standou and this one’s right up there.  Happy Tenth Anniversary to an ironically titled gem, here’s hoping there are more like this STILL to come. 

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And that ends another AND STUFF review!