THE NICE GUYS Deserves a Lot More Love

Rating: 9/10 (26 August 2017)

The most overlooked, underrated movie from 2016 was, without a doubt, THE NICE GUYS. I saw it in theaters on the weekend after it opened in a small theater with no more than a dozen people total. The box office numbers for THE NICE GUYS were depressingly low, being siphoned away to the swarm of big budget blockbusters that, let's face it, weren't all that impressive that summer. I treated myself to a double feature that afternoon, starting with the latest X-MEN and closing out with THE NICE GUYS. Needless to say, Shane Black's retro detective buddy comedy was the far superior film and I just wish more people had given it the attention it deserved. We've got superhero movies hitting us from every direction; we've rebooting reboots; we're regurgitating old properties and turning toy brands into franchises. So when an amazing, original movie like THE NICE GUYS comes along we need to pay attention and give it the love it deserves. Why are we wasting theater space on yet another tired TRANSFORMERS installment but my chances of getting another round with March and Healy are low-to-none? I think the only, and I mean only, mistake this movie made was being released in May at the start of the summer movie season. If the studios have played it smart and released it in the winter when audiences aren't bombarded with two and a half hour CG explosions, this movie might've gotten the love it deserved. Because this movie is awesome.
It's set in the '70s Los Angeles in the midst of the national gas crisis. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a sleazy private detective who finds himself teaming with the more honorable hired muscle Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) in getting to the bottom of a mystery revolving around a missing girl and a dead porn actress. THE NICE GUYS is equal parts action and comedy, with Gosling and Crowe giving what are probably my favorite performances from two actors I don't generally associate with comedy. March is an alcoholic who's still reeling from the death of his wife. He's raising his daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) alone and makes a living pursuing the sort of cases that might involve ripping off old ladies for on-going payments. Healy is a loner, living above a club with only his aquarium for company, who'll put the hurting on troublemakers for the right amount of cash. The two cross paths when Healy is hired to "send a message" to March to stop trailing a frightened young girl named Amelia (she's a person of interest in March's case). Soon Amelia goes missing and a couple of thugs (including Keith David because, as I mentioned, this movie is awesome) come terrorizing Healy in search of her; Healy recognizes there's someone with more sinister intentions pursing this girl and he turns to March for help in locating her. March reluctantly agrees and we're off on one of the best buddy action/comedies in decades from the writer of LETHAL WEAPON.
The writing is sharp. The laughs are consistent. The action is brutal. THE NICE GUYS succeeds on every level. I would've never pegged Gosling or Crowe for these sort of semi-comedic roles but they nail it. I want to see a sequel with March and Healy on their first official case as a professional investigation duo, with Holly tagging along despite the mens' warnings in sort of a "Penny in Inspector Gadget" role. Holly is precocious for her age and acts as March's unofficial partner, meaning she's the sober one and keeps him on track. Angourie Rice keeps pace with the heavier hitters of the film and never falls into the pitfall of being "the annoying child actor" who ruins an otherwise fantastic movie. She's just as vital a team member. The conspiracy uncovered by the trio is complex without being convoluted and it makes for an interesting story built around the legitimate gas crisis the United States encountered in the era. It's a fun period piece from a fun period. We don't get enough period pieces from the '60s or '70s anymore so I love it when one comes along and, even better, when it's done well. THE NICE GUYS has everything you could want and I don't want to spoil much of anything so I'm trying to be sparse with the details, but I really encourage you to check this movie out if you haven't. By the end, I imagine you'll be aching for another go with the Nice Guys P.I.s as much as I am.