Friday, May 20, 2016

THE NICE GUYS (A)


Slick, sly and sarcastic, The Nice Guys is a breezy, meaty detective crime caper that delivers the guttural laughing goods!  It’s a delightfully scrappy and jam-packed jaunt through the affluent hills and downtown dregs of Los Angeles.  Writer and director Shane Black deserves awards and accolades for the teaming of Crowe and Gosling – two tremendous actors who muster up an irresistible level of maniacally charismatic and playfully manic energy.  Together, their rapid fire riffs reach Abbott and Costello levels of slapstickian chatterbox greatness.  The third main character at play here, would be the City of Angels itself – Black’s masterful and self-assured plate spinning rings every last disco-and-drug-infused drop from the city’s flamboyant, late 70’s cinematic sponge.  He brilliantly captures the gaudily gold aura of the era.  Giving you a break from the summer box office behemoths, The Nice Guys is a fouled-up, foul-mouthed, riotous romp offering hysterical bouts of humor, intense action sequences, an intriguing array of interesting characters and an intricate who-done-it, bounce-around-like-you’re-living-in-a-pinball machine plot.  Let your mouth munch on popcorn whilst your brain munches this – its refreshingly fun cinema for the soul.  In this age of superheroes, Gosling and Crowe turn out to be the real dynamic duo – making The Nice Guys a refreshingly boisterous, bullet-riddled, budding bromance blast! 

Starring: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Keith David, Beau Knapp and Kim Basinger
Directed by: Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Iron Man Three) 
Rated: R 
Running time: 1hr. 56min. 
Story: In 1970s Los Angeles, down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power. 

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