The Nice Guys (2016)
Where to Watch
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Shane Black's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- Before Russell Crowe was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
The Nice Guys is a 2016 American neo-noir action comedy written and directed by Shane Black. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling star as an unlikely detective duo in 1977 Los Angeles: Jackson Healy, a thuggish enforcer who beats people up for money, and Holland March, a bumbling, alcoholic private investigator. When their separate investigations into a missing girl and a dead porn star converge, they discover a conspiracy connecting the auto industry, the Department of Justice, and the adult film business.
Shane Black's screenplay was a virtuoso display of hardboiled wit and elaborately constructed comedic set pieces, with Gosling's March โ a physically incompetent, emotionally damaged single father who accidentally does the right thing โ providing the film's most inspired comedy. The 1970s Los Angeles setting was realized with loving period detail, from the muscle cars and disco fashion to the smog-choked skyline. Angourie Rice, as March's precocious 13-year-old daughter Holly, was a scene-stealer who provided the team's moral compass.
The Nice Guys earned only $62 million worldwide on a $50 million budget, a commercial disappointment that has since been reappraised as one of the finest buddy comedies of the decade.
