Mismatched Pair.

Rating: 6/10 (1 June 2017)

Crowe is a rough hit man and Gosling is a washed-out young private eye, father to adolescent Angerie Rice. They wind up searching for a porno star who has evidence that the auto industry is deliberately lying about polluting the air in Los Angeles. The MacGuffin is a reel of porno film that has the recorded evidence of the conspiracy spliced into its midsection. Something like that.
What it boils down to is a lot of chases on foot and in cars, considerable blood letting, and a Mount Everest of wisecracks, mostly of the Rated-R quality. The whole production, set in Los Angeles, is colorful and wacky because the time is the early 70s. Terms like "reefer" and "Mary Jane" are flung about with abandon and we get to listen to the Strawberry Orange Peel or whatever the band was.
If you intend to enjoy this film, it's best to follow the advice of the Roman philosopher Seneca and not expect too much, so you won't be disappointed by some of the rheumatic gags. As the film opens we see Goslings hungover face in the bath tub. When he tumbles out, we see he's wearing a suit. It was hilarious in "Some Like It Hot." The film achieves its goal, which is undemanding amusement. Gosling becomes Lou Costello to Crowe's Bud Abott. Rice is Gosling's thirteen-year-old blonde, blue-eyed daughter. She's extremely pretty and delivers a nice performance. It may also be Gosling's best. It's nice to see him as a comic loser rather than a cocky young man. Crowe is now bulky, lumpy, and fearsome as ever.
Well, LA WAS pretty polluted back in the early 70s. It's much better now, whereas China, whose families have switched from using the methane from pig dropping as cooking fuel, to coal, has become far worse. If you're in a Chinese city, you may not be able to see the end of the block. However, they are aware of the problem and struggling with it. It's a serious problem but we'll have to bracket that thought in order to enjoy the laughs.