Brian’s review published on Letterboxd:
Shane Black is a unique voice and Hollywood capitalized on that voice for years in only a screenwriting capacity (with the exception of his few acting gigs like in Predator) and when the quick witted wordsmith transitioned to directing with 2005s neo-noir Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, we got a glimpse into his vision (hint; it’s inventive and clever while playing within genre conventions).
The jump from a small crime film to the MCU with Iron Man 3 was an offbeat experience that’s aged very well and his third directorial effort, 2016s The Nice Guys, is a funky glimpse into his wholly unique, very entertaining, sensibilities.
The Nice Guys is another neo noir sendup/buddy cop film that’s just a good time. The pairing of Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling is inspired, especially how Black directs them — they are hilarious. Gosling specially gives a highlight reel performance in comedy (that said, Crowe is amazing as well).
The film plays its noir inspirations straight even though it’s a comedy, which grounds this wonky mystery about two guys in a whole lot of trouble. Black uses 1970s Hollywood as his backdrop and gets a lot of mileage out of it. We have era appropriate protests, crazy parties and the detail pleases the eyes and ears.
The film dips into noir tropes, harkening back to political and even a land development plot ala Chinatown (or is it… maybe it’s something completely different) and Black along with fellow screenwriter Anthony Bagorozzi relish in playing in this sandbox.
The Nice Guys isn’t perfect — it looses a lot of steam as it’s drives into the third act but who cares? Black’s main objective was to entertain, directing amazing performances out of Crowe and Gosling while offering some of his hilarious offbeat dialogue, plot swerves and point of view.
It seems weird to say as The Nice Guys isn’t even a decade old at this point but it feels like a product of a bygone era. It’s lavishly produced, takes risks and in a world where steaming is the go-to, it’s hard to imagine a studio taking a risk with its budget like this now a days (it would also make a great double feature with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
The Nice Guys is a unique watch — it’s not perfect but the originality, jokes and whole vibe is like a fresh of breath air (just don’t protest the air)… it’s a great time, showing us everything that Shane Black is great at and has aged like a nice glass of Yoo-hoo.
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