Eventually They Will Finish... "The Nice Guys"

The Nice Guys (2016)

Rated R

Starring Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Margaret Qualley, Angourie Rice,

Written and Directed by Shane Black

The Story:

Holland March (Gosling) has been hired to find a girl (Qualley) who has gone missing. Coupled with the recent death of a porn star, it seems like everyone is trying to find this girl, including another private eye, Jackson Healy (Crowe). The two cross paths, exchange blows, and soon thereafter reluctantly team-up to try and solve a pair of cases that seem intertwined while navigating around some crazy people that make up Los Angeles in the late 1970s.

This is a strange one.

The trailer seemed like it would be a really good movie, but it failed to connect with audiences when it came out.

My only guess on that would be that perhaps Shane Black made the movie too dark and seedy, centering a great bit of it around the porn industry in the tale of a missing girl and a murdered starlet.

Not exactly the best date material for starters, or I guess, at least not out in public.

:)

Plus, when the smartest character in the movie is March's daughter (Rice) that also doesn't bode well.

That said, there are several great moments scattered throughout the film, and it's also bogged down by several stretches of "meh" as well.

It's a game effort by all involved, especially Gosling who is possibly the most nuanced private eye ever to grace the silver screen. How he managed to get, and keep, his job is a wonder.

Crowe gets to play the requisite heavy, and the two share a pretty good chemistry together.

It's no Lethal Weapon, but we've been waiting to see a buddy team-up like that for nearly 30 years to no avail.

Black tries to catch lightning in a bottle again, but comes up a bit short.

Bottom line, I liked it, but didn't love it like I hoped I would.

Final Grade: B-