Gosling and Crowe as slapstick detectives in 1970s Los Angeles.

Rating: Null/10 (26 September 2016)

I watched this at home on DVD from my public library. After seeing the trailer for this movie my wife decided to skip it, probably a wise choice for her.
I enjoyed it. But I would not rate it very high, there are too many flaws and much of the writing is lazy, using "Jesus Christ" as an exclamation too often and throwing in filthy language gratuitously.
Set in 1970s Los Angeles it involves a dead porn star, a missing daughter, and a corrupt law enforcement. Russell Crowe is Jackson Healy, who it seems earns his living mostly by taking payment to hunt down and beat up people. The example we see early is a 39-yr-old man getting too friendly with a 13-yr-old girl, smoking pot with her, etc. With his brass knuckles on Healy goes to his door, punches him out, and warns him to never see the girl again.
His job leads him to Ryan Gosling as Private Investigator Holland March. After getting beat up by Healy they eventually form a partnership of sorts and the result is a Two Stooges type of story from that point on. There are some very funny scenes, but also some that fall flat.
Cute young Australian actress Angourie Rice is really good as Holly, the PI's daughter who in many respects is more mature than he is. She even drives him places. She has a very natural acting style and a good screen presence, we will continue to see her in featured roles.
Not a good movie, a very dark comedy with lots of shooting and frequent bloodshed, but an interesting diversion for those who enjoy this type of movie.