Steals the show...

Rating: 7/10 (23 May 2016)

I got to the local movie house to see this latest action-comedy from writer/director Shane Black over the weekend, which I refer to as "Chinatown" meets "Boogie Nights".
Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe team up as a bumbling PI and, I really don't know how to describe Crowe's character - he just sorta beats up dudes who harass little girls - for cash!
Like the aforementioned "Chinatown", the film is a period murder mystery detective story set in LA, including political corruption, and like "Boogie Nights", it's a comedy set in the 1970's porn industry!
Gosling is very funny, and Crowe is too, in a different sorta way as a washed-up bloated almost Orson Welles-ish version of himself! The real star here though is the young actress who played Gosling's daughter. She steals every scene she's in, and I definitely see stardom in her near future.
Definite recommend on this one, and, like a lot of Shane Black films, this is a good one to see with an audience. Kim Basinger co-stars.