The Nice Guys

No one does neo-noir, buddy-comedy, private detective, crime thrillers quite like Shane Black.  Add to the mix some inspired chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, and you have one of my favourite (and most underrated) films of 2016.

Premise:  Low-rent, amoral private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and professional enforcer/muscle-for-hire Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) become embroiled in a mystery involving the hunt for a missing girl, and an adult film actress spotted days after her apparent death in a car accident…

Verdict:

I’m a big fan of Shane Black’s work, both the films that he wrote (such as Lethal Weapon and The Long Kiss Goodnight) and those he also directed (such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which relaunched Robert Downey Jr’s career pre-Iron Man, and which I never get tired of re-watching).  If you’ve seen his earlier films (especially Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), you’ll have an idea of what to expect from The Nice Guys – great, snappy dialogue (with a voiceover or two), a central mismatched-buddies relationship, a smartly written female lead, a convoluted criminal conspiracy, and a bucket load of private detective movie tropes.  Shane Black is one of those great writer/directors that can strike a near-perfect balance between comedy and tension, without cheapening either.

Ryan Gosling is clearly enjoying himself as the sleazy private eye Holland March, who’s the kind of guy who’ll happily take money from a senile widow to investigate the “disappearance” of her husband following his cremation.  Lacking any morals at all, he’s the comic relief of the central duo, and is responsible for many of the film’s more comedic moments.  His character’s saving grace (and the one thing that makes viewers believe there might be a “nice guy” underneath it all) is his single-dad relationship with his teenage daughter Holly (Angourie Rice).  Like Michelle Monaghan’s character in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Holly is whip-smart and headstrong, and Angourie Rice impresses with a performance that balances a wisdom beyond her years with a vulnerability that suggests she’s perhaps not quite as ready to face the real world as she thinks she is.

“...as disreputable a couple of characters as you could hope to find…”

Russel Crowe, on the other hand, displays a knack for comedy that I never knew he had, playing the straight-man role in the double act.  His Jackson Healy character is just as morally bankrupt as Holland March, making a living as a thug for hire who will beat up anyone if the price is right.  And he’s no knight-in-shining-armour, as demonstrated when points out to a young, desperate client that she’s $7 short on what she owes him.  But like Holland March, there’s a sense that there is a decent heart buried deep under all the cynicism, and in Jackson Healy’s case, it’s a longing for a sense of pride and purpose in what he does.

All of the above should you leave you in no doubt that the title The Nice Guys was intended ironically, as Healy and March are about as disreputable a couple of characters as you could hope to find, albeit that in finest private eye movie tradition, they find themselves caught up in a mystery that forces them to (at least attempt to) do the right thing.  In this case, the mystery starts with a missing girl (Margaret Qualley), who was both a client of Healy’s and a person of interest in March’s separate investigation into a sighting of adult film star “Misty Mountains” several days after her death in a car crash, but soon escalates into something much bigger.

Another one of Shane Black’s strengths is writing memorable supporting goons.  In this instance, we have the snappily named “Blue Face” (Beau Knapp) – named for reasons that become apparent – and “Older Guy”, a great comedic role for veteran character actor Keith David.  Matt Bomer appears later in the film playing against type as the ruthless hitman “John Boy”, a role that he really sinks his teeth into.

“…the kind of original, risk-taking movie that I wish they’d make more of…”

The decision to set the film in the 1970s is an interesting one.  On the one hand, it adds a little extra tension to remove technological crutches like mobile phones and internet access, and the conspiracy plot does involve 1970s themed issues.  But on the other hand, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang demonstrated that you could easily transport the hardboiled, 1940s-style of Philip-Marlowe-like private eye stories into a contemporary setting, and there is a risk that the historical setting could have been a distraction (and may have even put some viewers off).  Given that the film didn’t need to be set in the 1970s, it does feel like a slightly superfluous touch.

All in all, The Nice Guys is not quite a masterpiece, and the conspiracy isn’t quite as satisfying as in, say, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – but it’s still the kind of original, risk-taking movie that I wish they’d make more of.  It might not be Shane Black’s best film, but even his second-tier work is better than an awful lot of what’s out there.  It’s a terrible shame that, despite being critically acclaimed, The Nice Guys was a commercial flop (just like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang before it), but this does make it the perfect film to rediscover on Blu-ray/DVD etc.  It’s an absolute hidden gem, and certainly one of the most underrated film of 2016.