Filed under: Film reviews | Tags: Femme Fatale, Film Noir, film review, Kim Basinger, Los Angeles, Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Shane Black
April 21, 2016 – The Nice Guys – Poster and cover for the official soundtrack that will be released by Lakeshore Recors on May 20, 2016
In 1970’s Los Angeles, private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and enforcer-for-hire Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) team up to investigate the case of a missing girl connected to the death of a porn star. March is a washed up detective who looks smooth, and who stays just on the ‘right’ side of the law due to the wise intelligence of his daughter. Healy is discouraged by modern society and struggles to better himself, even as he can’t seem to maintain a relationship with anybody and prefers to use force rather than words.
I think Shane Black’s movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is absolutely first rate, but The Nice Guys is firmly placed on my list of top 20 films-of-all-time. The script is excellent – smart, fast and witty with an undercurrent of poignancy – paralleling the entire film. While Director Shane Black throws in hard-bitten aspects of film noir (thugs, femme fatales, conspiracies, and fading glamor) for our enjoyment, and the pairing of Crowe and Gosling is hilarious, there is true depth to this film as it meditates on the American psyche through the 1970’s, when the country struggled to find its purpose after the assassination of promising political figures in the 1960’s and the end of the Vietnam War.
A must see film that has left me wishing Shane Black made more movies.
6 Comments so far
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Victoria Jelinek 
What a strong endorsement. I’ve been meaning to see this movie and now I know I will.
Comment by Jason Rubenstein September 5, 2016 @ 1:13 pmI stand by it (now just hope you like the film!). Thanks for posting a comment…
Comment by victoriakjelinek September 13, 2016 @ 3:23 pmLoved your commentary Victoria. The movie is now on my must see list.
Comment by Giboin September 5, 2016 @ 3:56 pmIt is well placed on a “must see list” – hope you like it! Thank you for commenting…
Comment by victoriakjelinek September 13, 2016 @ 3:24 pmNow I MUST see this film
Comment by Pete September 8, 2016 @ 12:17 pmI hope you like it! Thanks for posting a comment…
Comment by victoriakjelinek September 13, 2016 @ 3:26 pm