THE NICE GUYS
US, 2016, 117 minutes, Colour.
Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, Margaret Qualley, Yaya Da Costa, Keith David, Beau Knapp, Lois Smith, Muriel Terrio, Daisy Tahan, Jack Kilmer, Gil Gerard.
Directed by Shane Black.
The first thing to observe, obviously, is that our two heroes are not exactly Nice Guys. But, they are much nicer than some of the other characters.
Back in the 80s, writer Shane Black created Lethal Weapon with the odd coupling of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, one brash, one more considered but getting too old for this kind of… 20 years later he made a very entertaining spoof of this kind of buddy film with Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. in the meantime, he has written and directed Iron Man 3. While there is entertainment in The Nice Guys, it does not come across as effectively as the previous films.
Not that Shane Black doesn’t know the 1970s very well and is able to recreate the atmosphere, a post-Nixon America where fraud and financial doubledealing is still prevalent. One of the other areas of corruption is that of pornography and pornographic films, something which was going to spread more extensively in the coming decades. And, there are the inevitable private investigators, still doing the same old work that Humphrey Bogart and co did back in the old days, although one of the special talents for Russell Crowe’s Jack Healy is that he is commissioned by angry parents to confront older men who have been abusing their underage daughters – and punching them out. On the other hand, while not against a punch out, Ryan Gosling’s Holland March is not as forthright.
So, Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, one getting larger and the other remaining thinner!, become entangled (often literally) in their trying to track down a young woman who wants to disappear. The plot development has the overtones of the 1940s film noir, those private eyes films with Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell, blended with the buddy police comedies of the 1970s and 1980s, think Eddie Murphy and Beverly Hills Cop or 48 hours. While the underlying search and the reasons for it and the girl wanting to disappear, are all very serious, there are lots of farcical interactions, a lot of comedy patter, some physical pratfalls and some episodes which have the touch of the dumb and dumber.
In the background, as we see from the beginning, there is the Detroit car show coming up in Los Angeles – with suggestions of fraud.Further complications come when the investigators find that the missing girl is the daughter of one of the top police investigators of fraud – and, echoes of LA Confidential, she is played by Kim Basinger. When the pornography comes in, it is also rather complicated and linked with social protest, the film to be screened with damning information during the automobile show.
There are several murders along the way, some rather brutal attacks on Healy and March (who, generally but not always, are able to fight back). There are also always some tough and sleazy criminals on hand in LA, especially the sinister Johnboy played by Matt Bomer.
There is quite a serious anchor to the proceedings, a touch of a common sense and conscience. It comes in the form of March’s 13-year-old daughter, Holly, who observes shrewdly and can be challenging. She is played expertly by Australian Angourie Rice (who featured in These Final Hours and The Nowhere Boys. If this isn’t a credible entry into international film career…
Many amusing moments, but not quite.
1. The title, expectations, ironies? A buddy investigation drama? Echoes of film noir? Comic patter? Serious themes and social corruption?
2. The 1970s, the setting of, Los Angeles, costumes and decor? Private investigations? The porn world? The commercial world, Detroit and cars, deals, fraud, Justice? Post-Nixon? Americana? The musical score and the times?
3. The film noir plot, the search for a young woman, involvement in the pornography industry, involvement in political process? The hiring of the investigators, their search? Tough, violence? The atmosphere of murders?
4. The tongue-in-cheek tone of the opening, the boy, looking at the magazine, Misty Mountains and her picture, the car coming through the house, his going out, Misty Mountain’s death? Introduction to Jack Healy, Russell Crowe, as large as life or larger, his job, the man and the young girl, her willingness, leaving, Healy arriving and punching him out? Amelia, warning him off, the note? Holland March and his commission to find Amelia? Healy arriving at the door, punching him, damaging his arm? Healy encountering Holly, offering the drink?
Then making the links and joining forces?
5. March and his life, the death of his wife, the house burned, the building site, Holly reading you the night, his card and advertising, the lady wanting him to find her husband – while his ashes were on the mantelpiece? Apt and inept, verbal, discovery of clues? Touch of the dumb? Interactions with Jack?
6. Amelia, the protests, the visuals of people demonstrating on the government steps, the clue from one of the demonstrators, the projectionalilst, her boyfriend, making the film, the house burned down, the death of the producer? The dead star? The note and the disputes about the address and interpretations?
7. The older criminal, Blueface, tough, fight, the banknotes and the blue explosion? The later return, the confrontation, the older criminal and his falling to his death? Blueface, the confrontation on the road, hit by the car?
8. Holly, sensible, the antagonism with Janet and asking Healy about how much to hit her? Her age, good, conscience, asking Healy whether he had killed the man on the road? Her friendship with Jessica, hiding in the car, going to the party, seeing Amelia and warning her, the car chase, the accident? Her observations? The reading and the site, Jack’s visit? With Amelia, the arrival of Johnboy – Jessica on the phone, patter, Jessica thrown out the window?
9. Judith Kuttner, Kim Basinger, the job, her assistant, the interviews, at the office, hiring the two find her daughter, her explanations about her daughter, the cheque and the amount? The assistant ringing to collect the money, March driving, going to sleep at the wheel, the monster in the back of the car, the crash, the bag opening and it being full of paper, not money? The assistant, a change of tone, her being a killer, the confrontation?
10. Going to the hotel, to the airport, tracking Amelia, going to the penthouse after the interrogations, the shootings? Amelia landing on their car? Helping, the revelation about her mother, the making of the film, Detroit fraud? Johnboy’s arrival, the fleeing house, asking for the lift, being killed?
11. The auto show, the importance of the film, the pornography within the advertising? The projectionalist and his being assaulted? The attack, the older criminal, Johnboy, on the roof, March falling, in the pool? The shootouts? The film, its rolling along the floor, the chase, retrieving it?
12. The Detroit officials upset? Judith and her arrest, her explanation?
13. The continued action, the patter between the two – with Holly being the anchor?
