‘The Nice Guys‘ (2016) is one of the few directorial experiences of Shane Black, best known as the screenwriter of some of the most successful films and especially action comedies of Hollywood in the last 36 years. And here he is the co-author of the script, so we can assume that we owe a lot of it to him for the quick pace, the situations and verbal comedy well combined with the story and the introducing of yet another couple of heroes of the genre that we are likely to meet in upcoming movies.
Jackson Healy and Holland March are two flawed detectives in a polluted city. The city is Los Angeles, the year is 1977, and the metropolis is air-polluted (LA’s smog was world-famous, with news bulletins some days recommending avoiding outdoor activities before 6 p.m.) and culturally polluted by the invasion of pornography which threatens to spread over Hollywood as well. Healy deals with protecting young women and girls by any means (meaning ANY means), and March with dubious investigations, including the search for either a husband whose funeral urn is on the shelf or a porn star whose death has been announced two days before. But if wifey or auntie pay well, why not? March is also an alcoholic and seems depressed following the death of his wife a year ago, a death for which he feels guilty. His luck is Holly, his 13-year-old teenage daughter, beautiful and intelligent enough to compensate for the father’s clouded mind. The two detectives clash (including a broken bone) at first, but later they make a great pair, actually a trio if you count Holly, investigating the disappearance of a girl involved in the making of the dead star’s latest film. Before long hitmen, the Department of Justice, the pornography and polluting automobile industries will be on a rampage to thwart the investigation and eliminate the detectives.
The story seems quite complicated, but Shane Black knows how to write a plot well where everything that happens is improbable and still seems logical to watch. The two main characters get along wonderfully after they clear up their initial misunderstandings and have the important quality to fall on their feet from any height. The stunt people list is twice as long as the actors list, and I think that says a lot. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are two actors who each can carry a movie. Together they make a wonderful pair and the ‘chemistry’ between them seems perfect, a fact also proven by some dialogues that seem improvised and are among the funniest. The real star of the film, however, is Angourie Rice, another very beautiful and very talented actress coming to Hollywood from Australia. She was 15 years old when she filmed ‘The Nice Guys‘ and played the role of a 13-year-old girl. I hope that her future career will live up to the potential shown in this film. Kim Basinger also appears in the film, in a sort of opposite role to what she has done in other LA gangster movies. The music takes us back to the atmosphere of the 70s, although some compositions are original. Shane Black turns out to be an excellent director as well, and I don’t know if I prefer him to use his time in the future to write scripts or direct movies. I seldom wish for a movie to have a sequel but this is the case with ‘The Nice Guys‘.