Brace yourselves as Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe hit the big screen as a reluctant crime-solving duo.
The Nice Guys is perhaps one of the most original and hilarious crime-comedies to come along in quite a few years. Set in 1970’s L.A, Holland March (Gosling) is a down-but-not-out private detective with a smart-aleck teenage daughter. Jackson Healy (Crowe) is a hired enforcer who beats people up for money and a recovering alcoholic.
Kidnapping
The two are thrown together when an unmissable job comes their way: the daughter of a Department of Justice employee has gone missing, and it may just have something to do with the death of a porn star. They discover that the mob is spreading out to Los Angeles and missing girl Amelia is involved somehow.
The Nice Guys is so much more than it’s hard-boiled detective plot, thanks largely to its quirky, off-kilter sense of humour that’s unpredictable at every turn.
Whether they’re dumping a corpse over a backyard fence into an unwitting family BBQ, or falling from height into a convenient swimming pool while an assailant splatters to the ground just next to it, there’s always an unexpected popcorn-spew of laughter punctuating the sleuthing, fighting and drinking.
Banter
It’s not just sight gags either. Gosling and Crowe have a natural back-and-forth throughout that perfectly plays March’s effeminate charm against Healy’s indifferent ‘I’m a bastard’ act.
March’s daughter is over-entitled and foul-mouthed, and her observations as she gets swept along in daddy’s work are some of the best quips in the movie.
For all the swearing and arm-breaking, what really stands out about this film is its playfulness. They’re nice guys, after all.
The Nice Guys is out now in UK cinemas.
