Nice Guys Finish First

Putting Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe together as an action comedy duo seems like a rather unorthodox and risky venture. Both have been able to add touches of humour to certain roles in their impressive resumes, yet they have generally been considered dramatic actors – with neither having truly had the chance to test their jocular delivery. So, it is perhaps slightly surprising that the duo have excellent comedic chemistry and timing in their new film The Nice Guys.

Co-writer and director Shane Black (the man who brought another iconic team to life in Lethal Weapon) brings us back to the smoggy streets and hills of 1977 Los Angeles where an unsanctioned tough guy named Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) – who is paid to fix problems for people in need, roughs up private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling) – as the most recent cases the two are working on have intersected. Healy is not easy on the unscrupulous individual, as he first sucker punches the gent, then breaks his arm after the detective tries to grab a gun.

March has been investigating the disappearance, or should I say the supposed reappearance, of Mrs. Glenn’s (Lois Smith) famous porn star granddaughter Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio). Though it has been all over the news that the adult film star was found dead in a car wreck, the underhanded PI continues to take the elderly woman’s moolah despite the fact that he has found nothing after his initial investigation. Healy has been financed by a young adult actress named Amelia (Margaret Qualley) to rough up the strange men who are following her, which leads him to March – as he has been trailing the dame due to her connection to the deceased porn star.

Though their first get together does not create warm fuzzy feelings, Healy eventually reaches out to the now wounded investigator for his aid in the case that Amelia has brought to him – as he has recently been ambushed in his own office by two thugs, simply known as Blue Face (Beau Knapp) and the Older Guy (Keith David), who are looking for the distressed Amelia – it is a stand out scene.

This unites the team: with Healy bringing the brawn to the relationship while March lacks the brains to complete the duo. The pair soon meet with Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger), a powerful member of the US Department of Justice as well as Amelia’s mother – who also hires the team to track down her daughter.

The men eventually realize that they are embroiled in a huge cover up of a major lawsuit that is targeting the big automakers in Detroit; as the adult actors and filmmakers were making a porn film that targeted the corruption found within the car companies as well as the upper echelon of the government; or as March puts it “you made a porno where the plot is the point?”. They soon have to deal with a hired assassin named John Boy (Matt Bomer) – could it be the character from The Waltons? Will the dysfunctional duo be able to rescue the dame, solve the mystery and save the day?

The Nice Guys is a quirky little off-beat comedy that harkens back to the comedy duos of old. Gosling, who has always spoken of his love of the comedy team of Abbott & Costello, channels the hefty Costello to a tee in one scene; when he tries to light a cigarette after falling down a hill in the middle of the night and realizes that there is a dead body propped beside him. His face shows his fright, yet as he tries to scream, all that comes out is a muddled hum of near silence. He continuously tries to yell for help from his partner until the panicked pleas finally escape from his quivering mouth. It is almost exactly like Costello’s performance where he is frightened by a self moving candle in Hold That Ghost or when he witnesses the faces of Dracula and Frankenstein in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. This demonstrates Gosling’s skill at both comedy and mimicry.

The situations that the duo find themselves in may also seem like something from an Abbott & Costello film. Black illustrates the duo’s incompetence by the fact that they never truly do great investigative work but simply stumble into situations that lead to clues (usually literally) falling in front of them. This can be seen by March’s tumble down the hill that helps him discover the dead body.

There are also some great physical gags. From Gosling’s character trying to break into a building after closing, to his attempt to hide behind a spinning car at an auto show, each demonstrates his knack for physical comedy. Crowe gets more of the rough and tumble fight scenes, though even his violent ways draw out some humour. One of the best scenes that contrasts this is when the twosome take an elevator up to Amelia’s supposed penthouse meeting room, yet when the door opens they see blood spurting from a guard’s neck and gunshots taking out other security. . . instead of braving the situation, they promptly allow the door to close and return to the safety of the bar.

Another nice touch can be found in the duo’s third wheel, March’s young teenage daughter Holly (Angourie Rice). She has a love/hate relationship with her father as she sees his often crooked ways, yet also has a wonderful bond with him. She is the most competent of the team, always finding ways to tag along and help them: be it by fitting in at an adult film party or by using coffee to distract the baddies.

The Nice Guys is a fun little movie that adds to the long history of buddy comedies. Though it has some minor issues, the overall product is strong. Gosling and Crowe are clearly game for anything, bringing some thrilling action as well as many laughs along the way. So, consider Going to California circa 1977 to when Led Zeppelin were still rocking: the film will take you Over the Hollywood Hills and Far Away to discover whether the Misty Mountain’s truly do Hop and if our duo can win the Battle that grows Evermore convoluted; okay, that’s a wrap, I don’t want to Ramble On.