Review: THE NICE GUYS Is A Lively, Boisterous Romp

If you had asked me yesterday, "Hey, what do you think about that buddy movie with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling? It's set in the '70s. Has Kim Basinger," I probably would have said, "Uhh, I don't know."

The truth is I didn't quite know what to expect from THE NICE GUYS but luckily for me, and the movie-viewing audience, it was a funny, really funny, action movie.

Russell Crowe plays Jackson Healy, a "hero" for hire (and that's "hero" depending on who's paying him), an open-for-business enforcer you can call if you're in trouble and can meet his minimum. Ryan Gosling is P.I. Holland March, a widower with a drinking problem and a precocious young daughter named Hannah (Angourie Rice). The men meet when one of Healy's jobs crosses paths with one of March's investigations or, more specifically, Healy's fist crosses paths with March's face. Despite their inauspicious beginning, they together realize that their two seemingly separate cases - the missing daughter of Justice Department prosecutor Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger) and the death of adult film star Misty Mountains - may be more connected than anyone could have expected.

THE NICE GUYS is directed by IRON MAN 3 director Shane Black. (I included that because that's how the ad campaign billed him and, quite frankly, that doesn't do him justice, Warner Brothers.) Black is a fun director, as fun as the script, written by Black and Anthony Bagarozzi, which beautifully and playfully unravels an unexpected mystery involving porno, the Justice Department, and the Detroit auto industry. The film is a lively, boisterous romp with quick, absurd detours and relentless, Looney Tunes-style violence that is enhanced even further by the chemistry between Crowe's Healy and Gosling's March which steals the show.

Crowe plays Healy, a man of action for the right price, with all the gruff and grizzle you'd expect from him. And Gosling is hilarious as a man who has clearly lost his way, his crutch BECOMING his put upon daughter Hannah. And speaking of Hannah, especially impressive are the young actors in this movie, starting with Rice and including Margaret Qualley, Ty Simpkins, Jack Kilmer, and Daisy Tahan. All have memorable turns as various, momentary foils to our protagonists. Basinger, DeCosta, and Bomer all have small roles but each make the most of what they have, as do Keith David and Beau Knapp as some bad guys who just don't give up.

No one is taking themselves too seriously, which is perfect for a comedy, and makes THE NICE GUYS great summer fare, the kind of movie that has you chuckling on the way out of the theater.

THE NICE GUYS, starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, is rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity, language and brief drug use.

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

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