The Nice Guys (2016)

[Athena]

Directed by Shane Black and written by Black and Anthony Bagarozzi. It stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David and Kim Basinger. The film will premiere on May 15, 2016 at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival before being released in the United States on May 20, 2016.

[King of Birds]

Hilarious. Loved it. I wanna be a detective in 1977 in LA.  Although... when the credits rolled and there was the "shot in Georgia" logo, we were all HUH? It did look like late 70s LA when it needed to.

[tinaw]

Saw this movie last night. I really liked it. Ryan Gosling made the movie for me. Russell Crowe was great as the straight man. Both together had great chemistry. The little girl held her own as well. She's up and coming.

I was entertained from beginning to end

[SeanC]

This felt like it was a script rewrite away from being a great movie, but it's still quite enjoyable.  Angourie Rice was the cast standout to me -- that's a character type that could easily have been irritatingly cutesy, but she totally pulls it off.

I imagine casting Kim Basinger was meant to be a callback to L.A. Confidential, particularly given the presence of Russell Crowe, but I thought she was totally flat in this.  In her final scene, especially, where she's got this whole spiel about how she did it all for Detroit and nobody can take them down -- ironically right before they get slammed by Japanese automakers -- she really wasn't bringing much of anything to it.

Edited May 22, 2016 by SeanC

[King of Birds]

Yeah, I didn't think Basinger was good in the movie. I felt that the loving attention to the period was lost when it came to her. I normally don't like to pick on women and their choices, but casting KB meant you were showing a modern (lets call it) "sculpted" woman. She didn't seem "of the time." It's a minor thing but it did detract, and she was flat, and didn't even embrace the devious role when it was made apparent.

I'm cracking up again how it was so important to have a yellow page ad.  And the woman with the coke bottle glasses - and her checkbook!

[AimingforYoko]

This was a great black comedy. (Pun totally intended)

Gosling and Crowe were great, but Angourie Rice really stole this movie. She nailed the combo of naivete and wise beyond her years of her early teen character.

[thuganomics85]

A bit rough in places, but I found it pretty entertaining.  It really reminded me of Shane Black's other recent non-Iron Man 3 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.  I equally enjoyed Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe here.  Gosling had the flashier role and was hilarious, but I also thought Crowe did a good job as the straight man of the duo.

Agree that Angourie Rice did a stand-out job, and I'm curious to see where she goes from here.  The rest of the supporting cast was good and it was fun seeing people like Keith David, Margaret Qualley, and especially Matt Bomer in this.  I did think Kim Basinger was disappointing, which is unfortunate, since I love L.A. Confidential, and was looking forward to seeing her and Crowe on screen again. 

The dark humor was close to perfect.  Pretty much laughing throughout the entire film.

I really liked the feel of the show.  The 70s setting and style really fit the film and the character's perfectly.

Edited May 23, 2016 by thuganomics85

[Shannon L.]

We saw this this morning and loved it.  I don't remember the last time I laughed like that.  The whole theater was really enjoying it.  My husband grew up in the L.A. area and, during the credits, before we knew that the big thing was going to be air quality, he leaned over and said "Wow, they really got the smog right."  He also appreciated the broken Hollywood sign and the city's skyline being correct (from what he could remember).  This is the type of film that I'd love to see nominated for set design and costume, but they so rarely are.  I hope the academy remembers this one when the time comes. 

Quote

Gosling and Crowe were great, but Angourie Rice really stole this movie. She nailed the combo of naivete and wise beyond her years of her early teen character

We all commented on what a gem this actress was and I hope to see her in more movies.  I even commented on how nice it was that she was both streetwise, yet still young in many ways, which goes to the writing as well as her acting.  She could have been either irritatingly cute or way too smart.

I loved Amelia's dress, too :) 

[PepSinger]

I have been so excited for this movie, and it did not disappoint. I laughed throughout the entire thing. Gosling and Crowe are a perfect duo. I laughed at part I shouldn't have laughed at, and I don't regret it. I loved seeing Yaya and Bomer in this. Rice was definitely a standout and held her own. 

The woman's glasses KILLED me. 

[ribboninthesky1]

I didn't want to see this - my sister was in town, and picked this film. I'm so glad I did - I did not expect he comedic duo of Gosling and Crowe to work.  It started out kind of slow and unfunny to me, but it really picked up.  Gosling's character was such a hot mess, and for me, he was the standout because he went all in. 

I found the daughter somewhat annoying, but the actress held her own.  Seeing Bomer as an assassin was unexpected (totally forgot seeing him in the trailer), and he was funny despite the whole psychopathic killer aspect of the character.  

Agree with Basinger being a miscast - I was distracted by...whatever she's done to her face. Shame that Yaya's character was on the wrong side of the law.  

[methodwriter85]

Kim Basinger did not in any way resemble what a woman in her 60's would have looked like in 1977. Agreed that the plastic surgery and the flat, pushed back hair just looked completely wrong for the period, especially if we're talking a woman who was a professional that had to be battled to be taken seriously and not a former star trying to retain her glory.

Other than that, I really thought they did a great job with the period.

What I really liked about Angourie Rice's character is that she basically felt like a role that Kristy McNichol or Tatum O'Neal could have played in 1977. Her character just felt right for that time period.

[ZoqFotPik]

I saw it today. I was worried it would turn out to be one of those movies where 90% of the funny parts are in the trailer, so I was pleasantly surprised at how funny it was. I'm not at all a fan of the super precocious kid trope, but felt it worked for the most part here. I agree about Basinger, she was out of place and her whole monologue about Detroit fell flat. And Keith David makes everything better.

[SallyAlbright]

The script was a bit weak, I still don't entirely get the motivations for the killings, but it didn't matter because Gosling and Crowe were hilarious. RC was the perfect straight man, and Gosling stole the show as just a complete hot mess. He needs to do more comedy, because he was perfect with both his line delivery and physicality. Basinger was definitely the weak link here. 

[Browncoat]

I saw this tonight, and thought it was hilarious!  I think I was the only one in my theater who caught the throwaway line by some extra who said, "I told him if he wants me to do that, he's going to have to stop eating asparagus!" 

I also loved Amelia's dress.

But did 911 exist as such in 1977? I was 13 then, and we had a rotary phone still, but I think the emergency number was just 0. Of course, that was also in a semi-rural area. It probably came earlier to large urban areas.