Wickedly funny and wonderfully profane

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2016)

Shane Black's The Nice Guys is a thoroughly entertaining, retro 1970s buddy-action-crime romp that brings to mind a cross between his previous works (such as Lethal Weapon and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang) and the blackest absurd humor of the Coen brothers (The Big Lebowski). The buddies here are an absurdly bumbling private eye, his far-more- intelligent (though also somewhat bumbling) 13-year-old daughter, and a gruff, disgruntled enforcer (who sends physical messages to people doing things they shouldn't be doing). They are grudgingly drawn together to solve a far- flung conspiracy involving mysterious deaths, porno films, Detroit automakers, the Justice Department, and The Waltons. The chemistry of the trio — played to perfection by Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, and Russell Crowe — is a delight to behold. Sincerely hope this is the start of a franchise.