Review: The Nice Guys (2016)

[Ronald O.Christian]

The Nice Guys
A review by Ron Christian

***** of *****

Sometimes you run across a movie and you say "that's the perfect
example of that genre."

This Friday's pizza-and-movie was The Nice Guys with Russell Crowe and
Ryan Gosling. Ok, a couple of things -- first, I'm a huge fan of
Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and in general, of the Film Noir
detective genre. I'm also *not* a fan of either Russell Crowe or Ryan
Gosling.

So, basically, anything they got wrong in The Nice Guys, a classic
Film Noir detective film set in 1977, would just grate the hell outta
me.

Ok, clear?

I absolutely loved the film. I will own this film. I will watch it
multiple times. Crowe was wonderful. Gosling was wonderful. Everyone
in the movie was wonderful. I especially want to find out who played
Gosling's daughter, and see her next film. Wife and daughter liked
the film as well. Daughter (22) usually has her head bent over her
phone during Pizza 'N' Movie Night, but this time she actually settled
back and watched the film.

I could tell right off that I was gonna own the soundtrack. (The
opening song was "papa was a rolling stone".) The sound is absolutely
excellent, and makes good use of the rear channels.

The trailer makes the film seem goofier than it actually is. The plot
is complex but very tightly written, and "torn from today's headlines"
if "today" was 1977. In a way it reminds me of Roger Rabbit, in that
the plot is a whimsical take on something that *actually happened*.

There's a lot of Easter eggs for people who grew up in that era. And
the plot -- I already said it really hangs together. It's a
magnificent piece of writing. I'm gonna find out who wrote it, and see
their next film.

The Nice Guys is rated R mostly for language, but there's some brief
nudity. The plot centers around a porn film that may contain some very
important data about something that was really important in 1977. Want
to know more? Watch the movie.

The Nice Guys. Very highly recommended. Five stars of five. A true
home run.
-
2014 FLHTK "The Grey"