The Nice Guys

Starring: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Yaya DaCosta, Keith David, Beau Knapp, Lois Smith, Kim Basinger
Directed by: Shane Black
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two men (Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling) reluctantly team up to locate a missing girl.

Review:

Tim: Shane Black is an interesting guy. He's clearly talented and is an exceptional writer. His directing seems solid, but there's just less of a body of work to examine. His directorial debut, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang was hilarious and entertaining. Iron Man 3 was a solid effort, but it was also the least effective of the trilogy. His third film, The Nice Guys is much closer to his directorial debut. This is a good movie with a good cast, funny dialogue, etc. However, it's his least effective movie. I liked the film, but I just didn't love anything about it.

The highlight of the movie is the inspired pairing of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. I really like both actors and they are exceptional talents. They worked really well together and played off each other brilliantly. Black is good at these male duo relationships and the dialogue between the two is entertaining. I wish we got to dig into these characters a little bit more. We get some of Crowe's character's backstory and Gosling's obviously got a daughter and the dynamics that go along with it. They were both solid characters, but nothing about them truly hit home to the point where they were unforgettable. They were fine, solid, nice characters. That's good, but it's not enough.

The plot of the film is twisty and bendy and takes some unexpected turns. The plot felt secondary, though- as if it really wasn't all that important in its own right- it was just there to move the characters along and give them something to do. That's okay, but great movies have memorable plots that are crucial to the film, not just the river the characters float down. I could tell you what it was all about, but in the end, the missing girls, the dead girls, the conspiracy- none of it is especially interesting or unique. It's just a story. Again, that's fine, but it will lower the ceiling on this film. That's a shame, because in many ways, this was an entertaining and funny movie. This is exactly the kind of movie Shane Black should be making. He can write snappy dialogue, create humorous situations, inject his zany comedy into the situation. It's a perfect playground for his strengths, but Black never ratchets it up to its potential. That's a perfect example of Black as a director- I enjoyed the first three films he made, but none of them reached greatness. Each had massive amounts of potential, but Black wasn't able to capitalize on them. The Nice Guys had the least amount of potential realized. This could have been way better than it was. While that's disappointing, I have to give Black credit for turning in a good movie.

That's the point I want to stress and I leave this review- The Nice Guys is a good movie. Gosling and Crowe are great together, Black gives them humorous dialogue to say, and there's a few legitimately laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled throughout the film. This is an entertaining, funny, worthwhile movie. The flip side is that there's massive amounts of unrealized potential here. As a director, the same thing can be said for Shane Black- he's so talented, and it's a bit discouraging that his third film is his least effective. I want him to get better, to tap into that talent to give us truly great moments. He doesn't do that here, which is hard to swallow. So, while this is legitimately a movie I enjoyed, Black can do better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, Crazy Stupid Love, Inherent Vice