Review: The Nice Guy's Deserves its Praise, it's a Pity No One Saw It.
- Jan 4, 2017
- 2 min read
The Nice Guy's is the latest outing from Shane Black, the writer of Lethal Weapon and director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It is darkly humorous that brings both action and comedy to the 1970's in a way that only Black can.
Following the trail of a murdered porn star and a missing girl, Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe, two private investigators, are drawn into a web of lies, murder and absurdity. And my, how absurd it is, though most definitely in a good way. The setting, the characters, notably Gosling's daughter, and the plot combine to create one of the funniest, most exciting films of 2016.
The uneasy alliance between the two leads soon gives way to more serious elements that are blended incredibly well into the ridiculous nature of the story. While at its heart it isn't much more than a comedic take on the noir genre, much like Black's earlier Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it manages to subvert many of the tropes and remain fresh and relevant.
It's difficult to say much without giving away key elements that are best left unspoiled, even if they are a little blatant, the way in which Crowe and Gosling play off of one another is worth the price of admission. Throw in a wonderful performance by Keith David, Black's standard of snappy dialogue and hilariously dark humour and you get a film that is incredible in both its execution and its acting.
With action and comedy in equal portions, often combined and some unexpected story telling choices, The Nice Guy's is almost flawless, though some jokes fall a little flat and some of the action lacks weight, this cannot and will not slow it down.
Sporting a wonderful soundtrack and the best performances I've seen from Crowe and Gosling in a long time, The Nice Guy's is definitely worth checking out. It's funny, intriguing and deserves to be so much bigger than it was.
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