'THE NICE GUYS' which I saw on the opening day of its Australian release is Directed and Co-Written by Shane Black and having received its Premier at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this month, it's US release on Friday 20th May, and arriving on our Australian shores this week, this odd-couple buddy comedy mystery film set in late-70's Los Angeles has so far received much critical acclaim, and US$24M from its US$50M outlay.
Starring Russell Crowe as Jackson Healy a street smart, hard hitting shoot first ask questions later enforcer for hire who is fighting his own demons including keeping off the alcohol, struggling with the way the world is changing and fearful he's getting old before his time, and who seems to be relationship phobic except with his tank full of fish. He lives in a bedsit above a bar, and that basically is his world, wrapped up in a blue leather jacket that is so well worn it could probably stand up on its own.
Then there is Holland March (Ryan Gosling) - a down on his luck worse ex-cop ever private eye who comes with his own set of baggage including teenage daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) whose smarts more often than not keep her dad in check, an alcohol problem being rarely seen without a stiff drink in his hand, an aversion to the sight of blood - especially when it's his own seen pouring profusely from his cut wrist, and dodgy investigative practices that if it weren't for his daughter would see him on the wrong side of the law more often than not.
The two join forces unexpectedly to track down a missing young girl Amelia Kutner (Margaret Qualley) following the tragic & untimely death of a porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio). Hired by the porn stars grieving aunt who claims to have seen Misty alive following her alleged death, March takes on the case realising that there might be a link to the missing girl. It turns out that the missing girl is not really missing at all, but is just AWOL not wanting to be discovered by her mother Judith Kutner (Kim Bassinger) a high ranking official in the Department of Justice who claims her daughter is delusional and suffering paranoia. It turns out that Amelia and Misty Mountains were making an 'experimental' porn film together - part porn and part investigative expose about the LA smog and the car manufacturing giants that have contributed to it through exhaust emissions - that they plan to air unannounced at the upcoming LA Auto Show. Amelia hires Healy to get March of her case, which is how the two odd-balls come together in the first place although it doesn't end so well for March, but they soon come to realise they need each other.
The pair quickly learn that there are equally dangerous unscrupulous individuals hot on Amelia's trail too including the Older Guy (Keith David) and Blue Face (Beau Knapp). and that there is much more to this case than simply a missing person, as various persons of interest wind up dead during the course of their investigation. These include young Dean - the film maker whose house mysteriously burnt down with him in it, and with it the roll of film containing the 'experimental film'. Additionally, the money behind the film, financed by Sid Shattack - a king pin in the LA porn scene at the time, winds up very dead too with his face smashed in and discovered by accident one night at the bottom of a hill, that March tumbles down while at a party.
While Amelia pops up at various points in the film being very elusive, we learn that there is a second roll of film stashed away somewhere, that possibly Misty's aunt may be able to lead them to given the earlier claims she made to having seen the porn star alive after being reported dead. They visit Misty's house and find secret projection equipment, and deduce that the Aunt must have seen an image of Misty projected onto the wall in the house, and therefore a second roll of film is confirmed. But there are various nefarious crims closing in on the trail, including a hired hit man John Boy (Matt Bomer) who will stop at nothing to take out Amelia and prevent her from going public about what she knows, and well as Older Guy and Blue Face. The web of intrigue deepens as Healy and March, following a shoot out with John Boy, seek to bring the matter to the courts based on what they know - that the government and the media joined forces to down play the automotive industry's part in exhaust emissions and suppressing catalytic converters, but they have no evidence and so their case is dismissed.
Crowe and Gosling clearly share an onscreen chemistry that make this an enjoyable and engaging romp through a late 70's LA that delivers conspiracies, thugs and underworld crims, violence, moments of humour and a touch of noir that round out the package quite nicely. Both show off their comedic talents well, and in this respect Gosling is the surprise in all of this as he does so with pathos and in an understated and believable way. While Crowe is perfectly at home with his bully-boy no-nonsense style - the two riff off each other in a fear and loathing yin-yang kinda way until the end when their exploits on this case bring them together as they launch their new investigative agency - 'The Nice Guys'! Certainly worth the price of your ticket and I can see that if this does well enough, there could well be a sequel in the offing!
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
