MORAL OF THE MOVIE

Even the unlikeliest of characters can work well together when united by a common goal of doing what’s right (and/or getting paid to do it). As easy as it is to live your life with no regard for anything that doesn’t necessarily concern you, you’ll always have the option to go out of your way to do some good and what’s right. Even if it doesn’t work out, what matters most is that you tried and continue to try to improve yourself and your community.

WHO I THINK WOULD MOST ENJOY THIS MOVIE

If you’re a fan of funny buddy cop movies focusing on some sort of mystery case, then you will surely have a most enjoyable time with this one. The experience will especially be enhanced if you like slapstick humor and 1970s Los Angeles nostalgia.

ADDITIONAL NOTES/COMMENTARY

This has to be one of the most under appreciated movies out there. Just thinking about its genuinely hilarious moments makes me laugh. As mentioned in previous reviews, my favorite movie genre is action/comedy and this movie is legitimately one of my favorites of the genre out there. Everything is done superbly and masterfully tied together by director Shane Black (other directing credits include Iron Man 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Clever premise. Hysterical comedy. Fun action. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe (@russellcrowe ) is surprisingly top-notch with Gosling producing his best comedic work and Crowe, as you can imagine, playing the straight-faced counterpart. The two go back and forth with fast-paced dialogue that never fails to get a laugh out of me. The two are mediated by a young girl (played by @angourierice ) who shockingly holds her own against these stars and provides the majority of the heart of the film on top of that as well. The one-two combination works perfectly. The storyline is crafted to fit within the genre but stands out as well and actually made this fun movie feel like a typical L.A. Noire detective story. The audience gets fed clues at the same pace as the protagonists, which really enhances the viewer’s immersion into the story for an incredibly enjoyable cinematic experience. In terms of the movie’s morals, you also get a lot to digest about contemporarily relevant topics such as corruption, justice, and doing your part. While this film will be most memorable for its knee-slapping comedy, there’s also the discussion of people in positions of power corrupted by greed and the prevalence of resistance/protests in the 1970s. Something that seems very relevant in today’s day and age. I’m not saying that this film will necessarily teach us anything particularly deep about issues like justice reform, human impact in climate change, corruption, etc., but it does interestingly highlight how the issues we face today are unfortunately very similar to those from almost half a century ago. In the end, The Nice Guys (who aren’t so nice as you’ll see in the movie) is full of fun action and ridiculously amusing humor that supplement a very clever buddy detective storyline focused on unlikely yet complementary partnerships and contemporarily relevant issues. Also, the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe alone will make the experience worth watching over and over again for an especially enjoyable cinematic experience every time you watch it.