Shane Black made history when he got major monies as a student for writing the first Lethal Weapon movie and kinda re-bolstered the buddy-cop action-comedy genre.
That Lethal Weapon deal made mad money for him and he was hyped up as the next best thing and it all went pear shape afterwards. Couple of duds, drugs, alcohol and women and his carrier seemed done and dusted.
He went back to the genre that launched him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, starring a troubled Robert Downey Jnr on the mend and a chubby Val Kilmer. Kiss Kiss has not reached cult status and Shane Black goes back to the same genre with The Nice Guys. Does it work? Let's dig in...
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Set in 1977, in post-Nixon America, where the Americans have grown tired and weary of officials. Drug culture, the pornography industry and teen angst are on an all time high.
Shane gives us a story about Private Investigators, the embodiment of sleaze, who live in a corrupt world and they are as flawed as their world.
In the one corner you have the not-so-stereotypical tough guy, who can read and use big words - a strong silent type who has a big mushy softie heart that's covered by his tough exterior in the form of Russell Crowe's muscle-for-hire Jackson Healey. Great to see Russell Crowe back on our screen having fun.
Then you have the pretty boy weasel, who is not as smart as he seems and the loveable weasel Ryan Gosling's Holland March. Here it looks like Ryan Gosling is channelling his Lars and the Real Girl character - a bit of Johnny Depp and some great physical comedy routines.
One of the other pleasant finds in this movie is the young Angourie Rice as Gosling's daughter. She kinda reminds of a young Jodie Foster of Taxi Driver era. She becomes the heart of the movie that holds the two leads as they try to solve their case but her innocence comes with a lot of sass and laughter
This is one of those movies were the movie is not about the plot but the chemistry of the leads like Ocean 11. Throw in the mob, a lot of amoral characters, 1970's fashion, music and iconography and the movie delivers on a cocktail of laughter, action and some nudity.
Rating
****
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Index
* Dead on Arrival **Eish , ja nee ***Okay i can dig it ****we cooking with gas *****what are you waiting for book your ticket