A Buddy Movie. And not the best.

Rating: 5/10 (10 June 2020)

The Nice Guys is not a good movie. It's not even good as a buddy movie but as a buddy movie it's ... OK. The stuff and nonsense between Crowe and Gosling grows old after a while but for some time it'll keep you entertained. So will Angourie Rice who plays Gosling's precocious, brilliant, and brave young daughter. Until you realize that the relationship between her and her father is a bizarre one; she is the common sense mother to her immature father. That is until she places her life in danger and once she does that you start asking 'Does anyone here have a brain?' And when the answer comes back, 'Nope', you stop caring.
The plot is impossible to follow. I've seen it twice and I'm convinced that a third viewing will not help. Mistaken identity, bad cops, good cops, porn stars, Hollywood stars, and - get this - a 'clean air message' just serve to propel the buddy business into the film's second hour. Finally the film seems to end three separate times, only to begin again with a new reason for being. I'm not convinced that anything but the buddy-business actually mattered.