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It’s been almost 30 years since Shane Black wrote his first action movie—1987’s buddy cop comedy Lethal Weapon. But with his new retro action-comedy, The Nice Guys, the writer and director proves that he still hasn’t lost his gift for crafting wildly entertaining comic crime thrillers.
The Nice Guys stars Ryan Gosling as Holland March, a private investigator in 1970s L.A. who’s hired to track down a porn star who was recently killed in a car accident—though her batty old aunt is convinced that she’s still alive. The search points him toward a young woman named Amelia (Margaret Qualley), who seems to have caught the attention of every thug in L.A.—including hired tough guy Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), who’s trying to keep her safe. And when the two team up to try to find her, they put themselves and March’s adventurous teenage daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice), in danger.
With its over-the-top brawls, its quirky crime-fighting duo, and its campy period touches, The Nice Guys is action-packed and effortlessly funny, with a story that’s loaded with lies, cover-ups, and conspiracies. Nothing about it feels awkward or forced; it never feels like it’s trying too hard to shock or amuse audiences. It’s just the kind of fun-filled buddy crime comedy that Black does so well.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Gosling and Crowe make an entertaining comic duo—Crowe as the world-weary tough guy who seems resigned to his lot in life and Gosling as the bumbling drunk who’s generally more interested in his paycheck than his integrity. The stars play both the action and the comedy well—whether that means rattling off lines of snappy dialogue or tumbling down hills. But it’s their young costar who grounds the film and gives it its heart.
More than just a lovable side character who’s thrown in for a couple of laughs and a heartwarming moment or two, Holly is the most stable character here—the one who keeps her dad on track and his new partner in check. That’s not to say that she’s a grown-up character in a teenage body. She’s still a kid—albeit a kid who’s spent her life looking out for her dad. She may not be legally old enough to drive her dad around town—and she sometimes finds herself in way over her head—but she often keeps the whole crazy adventure from running off the rails.
If you still love the old buddy cop comedies, you won’t want to miss The Nice Guys. It has everything that you loved about movies like Lethal Weapon: action, laughs, and a likable cast. And the film’s conclusion sets it up nicely to become Black’s next action franchise.
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