Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Shane Black, Silver Pictures, MA 116 Minutes.
By collaborating with Anthony Bagarozzi in writing the script for his retro-styled motion picture ‘The Nice Guys’ (released in 2016) director Shane Black has shown special appreciation to those enjoyable private eye TV shows of the 1970’s.
Previously Black played an important part as a writer in each of the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies featuring Aussie actor Mel Gibson and Danny Glover that were screened between 1987 and 1998.
Black’s action comedy-drama with its satirical title sees a couple of clumsy private eye detectives, Jackson Healy (Russel Crowe – ‘Noah’) and Holland March (Ryan Gosling – ‘The Big Short’ ) hired to explore corruption in the porn industry.
In meeting for the first time, their introduction is nothing short of slapstick fun as shown in the scene where the tough-guy Healy confronts the mild-mannered March in the toilet cubicle attempting to pull up his pants.
After Healy breaks his arm March is supported by his smart teenage daughter Holly (Angourie Rice – ‘These Final Hours’) to join forces with Healy and investigate the sudden death of a porn star.
The fun gets better as the dynamic duo try to locate Amelia (Margaret Qualley) the defiant daughter of agency head Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger – ‘Third Person’) with the erotic film in her possession which could lead to the porn star’s killer.
The antics of both guys reach a climax at a bawdy party where dead people start dropping around them in addition to a blundering March becoming involved with mermaids and strippers.
Black’s attempt to evoke the nostalgia of the seventies in his latest flick has only partially succeeded through his costumes and settings with the storyline becoming slightly bewildering unlike the straightforwardness of the ‘Lethal Weapon’ films.
At the same time there is no denying the comedic chemistry between Crowe and Gosling as ‘The Nice Guys’ especially their entertaining scenes with the young Aussie actress Angourie Rice who steals just about every scene she appears in.
The Nice Guys is to be televised on Channel 9 on Friday 29 January at 10.45pm.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
