The Nice Guys (Shane Black)

[Henry Gale]

IMDb / Wiki

[Irish]

Where is the Henry Gale review? That's what I clicked on the thread for and it's not here!

[Henry Gale]

Where is the Henry Gale review? That's what I clicked on the thread for and it's not here!

Relax! I only managed to pop down from the Cloud 9 of having watched it long enough to make the thread.

It really is great though. Just Shane Black in his purest, most virtuosic form. He essentially made a film designed to have him do everything he does best, done as often and fully as possible. The only scenes that didn't end with me giggling like an idiot were the ones specifically designed to not have you do that. It's a movie that has real, worrisome stakes in a sinister and dirty-feeling way that I feel like Hollywood hardly ever puts money behind anymore, but it's also just endlessly funny. I can't believe they gave up as many gags and jokes in the trailers and there's still hundreds more in it, with the ones I already knew being even better in context.

Shane Black had a segment to himself on last night's Last Call where he described exactly something that I have a vague but big problem with that's something he forgoes beautifully here with this movie, which is that somewhere along the line it seems like people decided that to give something the right tone you have to give it the same tone throughout. But he completely refutes that and argues you can have things be serious and funny and scary ‒ even all in the same scene ‒ if you do it the right way. (A good recent example that comes to mind is that the third episode of this Game of Thrones season, with things like Tyrion's failed drinking games and Pycell farting, has some of the most unexpected and weird comedy that plays just as perfectly as harrowing sequences like its ending.) The bigger issue at hand might be that most people simply can't strike that balance as well as he can (especially with something like The Nice Guys), but as long as he continues to make the effort to, I will anxious to be able to turn up for it.

It just sucks that the best film of the summer movie season had to come this early. (Challenge issued to everything else!)

[Morris Schæffer]

Gonna go tomorrow. That sounds great Henry. That it's totally serious and yet hilarious at the same time.

I mean, when it gets right down to it, Lethal Weapon is probably funnier than 95% of the comedies released in the past 5 years.

[dreamdead]

Good stuff, with multiple sequences uproariously funny. Gosling is fantastic in this, and it happily lacks many of the gay panic mentality that parts of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang reveals. Gosling's daughter in the film is likely the MVP here, affirming Gosling's tone but even stronger in capturing the mixture between innocence and spunk.

The MacGuffin is at times a little schematic and there are a few moments where it threatens to become overly connected, even if that's par for the genre.

Ultimately, it's sad that this isn't performing better at the box office because it's legitimately funny throughout.

[Winston*]

Good stuff, with multiple sequences uproariously funny. Gosling is fantastic in this, and it happily lacks many of the gay panic mentality that parts of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang reveals.

Is there a particularly strong gay panic mentality in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang? Would've thought this film was more sexist than KKBB was homophobic.

I enjoyed it for the most part, though not sure about the late in the game introduction of Matt Bomer's unstoppable psychopath (basically Gary Busey's character in Lethal Weapon). It's just nice in this day and age to see a pure popcorn film that isn't setting up a franchise and has no one in a silly costume.

Would be pretty happy to see Shane Black continue to make slight variations on the same movie over and over again for the rest of his career.

[dreamdead]

Is there a particularly strong gay panic mentality in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang? Would've thought this film was more sexist than KKBB was homophobic.

I'm thinking of Slant's review, and of sequences that I saw on a partial rewatch earlier this year. KKBB's a fine film and certainly enjoyable enough, but there are passages that skirt close to the 80s model of gay jokes.

This one works similarly with the lens of sexism, so you're right on that front. Any girl who has transitioned to womanhood is derided verbally/visually, and that angle is equally uncomfortable in spots (noticeably in the opening image of sexual objectification and violent mutilation). That said, Gosling's daughter works as a counter to that angle, and I'd be just fine with a film charting her growth as a PI.

I'll be curious if Black's Doc Savage can muster this kind of verbal tone. Though I lament elements to Black's thematic interests, his approach to dialogue is dynamic and of a sort that asks to be reseen simply to bask in the rhythms of his prose.

[DavidSeven]

If you've seen at least a few Shane Black movies, then you've more or less seen this.

That's not a straight up criticism. The genre is becoming scarce in Hollywood, and Black's voice is distinct, so I welcome new entries of this quality even if they feel like pure retreads. There's just not a lot of new things to say about it. The story beats and casting types are largely recycled. You could cobble this movie together by creating a collage of his previous films. That said, like the best noir, the tried-and-true plot elements are all just a framework for Black to do what he does -- infuse his specific brand of humor and humanity into a hard boiled story. You won't find evolution or reinvention here, but there's comfort in knowing that at least someone is still making movies like this.

[Watashi]

Gosling is incredible in this. His comedic timing is perfect.

[Morris Schæffer]

This is a fun movie, and probably the funniest movie I've seen since the Wolf of Wall Street. The story could have been more gripping perhaps, it's played for laughs a bit too overtly at times, but that's just me. I mean, there's no way you'd call Lethal Weapon a comedy and it's still pretty funny. The Nice Guys you could probably get away with calling a comedy.

Cool cast. Keith David, Gil "Buck Rogers" Gerard!!

The 70's setting is fantastic, the nods to Shane Black's repertoire great fun such as the jump into the pool from Lethal Weapon 2.

[Peng]

The manic energy level drops from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (or even Iron Man 3) quite a bit, so there's a feeling of dead-air often when it turns away from the set-pieces to plot-related stuff. But man, when Shane Black stages an action/comedy set-piece, he really nails it, with bursts of violence and broad slapstick mingling together wonderfully. The film also gets more engaging as it goes along. And drunk, bumbling, pratfalling Ryan Gosling is just the greatest.

[MadMan]

While I do prefer Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang I still loved this movie anyways. A sequel with more wonderfully bumbling Gosling and gruff as ever Crowe would be sweet. Not going to happen, but I can dream.

[Stay Puft]

I don't really have anything to add, but yeah, despite some misgivings it's still a lot of fun. I was smiling throughout, and frequently laughing out loud.

March scrambling for the ankle gun was probably the biggest laugh for me. And seeing Keith David randomly pop up in a movie always makes my day.

[MadMan]

Keith David was great, as usual.

[Irish]

What I liked at the start, I hated by the end.

[Dukefrukem]

Laughed out loud at:

Gossling's attempt at breaking and entering

Crowe's spit-take on his wife's revelation

Crowe: Give me your left arm
Gossling: "NO!"

Little Girl: "How much to beat up my friend Janet?"
Crowe: "How much you got?"
Little Girl: "$30 bucks"
Gossling: "Oh look Apple Pie!" (Bwhahahaha)

Protester: *walking through a burnt down house* "This place looks so bigger now"

Gossling: *high pitch voice* "She's fuckin deeeeeeeeeeeead"

[Grouchy]

A film out of its time and true to the style and the reputation of Shane Black. I think the casting of the two is ultimately what makes it really work, and Gosling is the most brilliant here that he has ever been in his entire career, I think. There are plenty of silly Hollywood moments, specially midway through the movie when it makes a ridiculous attempt to become emotional, but it's well compensated by the amount of times the movie made me laugh out loud and spit my beverage.

[Philip J. Fry]

Still pretty funny on rewatch. Gosling is hilarious.