In 1987, Shane Black wrote the screenplay for “Lethal Weapon” and effectively reinvented what is now referred to as the “buddy cop” movie. Mixing comedy, action, drama, crude language, and realistic violence into a hard “R” rating, Black followed it with multiple sequels which spawned hundreds, if not thousands, of mostly inferior imitators.
While the two leads here aren’t cops (one is a private eye, the other a quasi-bounty hunter), “The Nice Guys” finds Black (also the director) overhauling the “Lethal Weapon” formula and augmenting it with some Mickey Spillane, Elmore Leonard, a splash of “L.A. Confidential,” and a lot of “Boogie Nights” needle-drops.
Abundant with the same type of caustic sarcasm that made Black’s 2005 “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” an underappreciated, yet cult favorite, “The Nice Guys” is smarter than it has to be and in retrospect, like all great crime thrillers, it is a relatively simple story.
Set in 1977 Los Angeles amid the backdrop of the burgeoning adult entertainment industry, the story starts with the death via car crash of model-actress Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio). Her dying words, “How do you like my car?” seem rambling and random at first, but nothing included in this movie is present without a reason.
Mismatched Partners
A guy who makes his living ferreting out and intimidating a particular strain of depraved criminals, Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) believes private detective Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is the one who is stalking Amelia and introduces himself to Holland with his trademark brass knuckles and severe arm-twisting.A recent widower and a single father, Holland is talented but dulls his skills with far too much drink and self-pity, and he is the biological father of Holly (Angourie Rice), his wise-beyond-her-years pre-teen daughter. Holly loves Holland yet her opinion of him is understandably low. She remains guardedly optimistic after he joins forces with the far more stable yet equally flawed Jackson.
Opening with a long-dormant version of the Warner Bros. logo, as well as neon, psychedelic font credits, the bass intro to “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and aerial wide shots of the smog-riddled L.A. skyline, “The Nice Guys” perfectly captures its era. The rampant polyester, wide lapels, drugs, promiscuity, and disco-funk soundtrack only add to its beyond-authentic air.
For Gosling (“The Big Short,” “Crazy. Stupid. Love.”), it was another chance to display his considerable comedic chops and a deft mastery of Chaplin-Keaton physical-pratfall work. Getting laughs almost every time he speaks, Gosling also does so without trying, and frequently with textbook deadpan.
Crowe’s Jackson is psychologically closely akin to his police detective Bud White’s 1950s character from “L.A. Confidential.” Both are hotheads, and it’s within the realm of possibility that Jackson’s (never mentioned) back story could have been that he was a cop until going over the ethical line once too often, forcing him to work in the private sector. Now he frequently deals with society’s seedier and more unsavory elements.
For any other filmmaker in any other similarly minded movie, the temptation to quickly get protagonists like Jackson and Holland on the same page by the end of the first act would be too much to resist, yet Black keeps them at odds the majority of the time. It’s on a par with the first “Lethal Weapon” and the Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. dynamic in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”
As strong as the Crowe-Gosling pairing is, it is made all the better thanks to newcomer Rice. The diminutive 14-year-old Australian native steals every scene she’s in and displays a level of measured confidence rarely seen in juvenile performers.
Big Misstep
Black and his co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi make only one misstep, but it is huge and results in the loss of a half of a star in my rating. They ignore the most basic laws of physics and probable outcome when a character firing multiple automatic weapons from a short distance completely misses two slow moving targets.The film concludes with the possibility of a sequel and, if that ever happens, “The Nice Guys” could turn into another “Lethal Weapon” franchise with each subsequent release being worse than the one before it. It hasn’t happened yet; keep your fingers crossed.
In the movie’s final scene (no spoilers ahead), one of the leads tells the other about something that will take place in the future: “in five years, tops.” Keeping in mind the film was released in 2016, what is said has indeed come to pass and it is eerily prophetic.
If you find that “The Nice Guys” (now available on Netflix) floats your boat, be sure to check out the aforementioned “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” Black’s directorial debut from 2005.
