MOVIE REVIEW - The Nice Guys

I love a good guilty pleasure movie, and The Nice Guys is certainly that as the summer season begins.

This is a buddy-detective comedy that is set in Hollywood in 1977, that stars Ryan Gosling, and Russell Crowe.  When you see the trailer, it may not look like a very good, or even very original movie, but it is.  Yes, the buddy premise is an old one but this works. Gosling and Crowe are good together.

This is about 2 really marginal private detectives ..sort of... who work together on a case of a missing young girl, Amelia.  Who is she?  Why does seemingly everyone want to find her? And why is everyone out to kill her?  This story bobs and weaves throughout and in the end, ends up being a pretty darn good story. 

This is full of slapstick and some really slick dialogue delivered very well, as our characters are developed nicely throughout the flick.  This is a combination of a good old fashioned Hollywood who-done-it, a father/daughter story, a straight sight gag comedy, and a bit of Lethal Weapon tossed in.  This takes us back amazingly well to 1977 as the costuming, sets, props, cars and soundtrack are really spot on. 

Huge kudos to a wonderful young actress, Angourie Rice. She plays Gosling's character daughter who is about 13.  She is really great in this movie, and is needed as she provides great balance and relief from the sometimes hectic pace. SHE is the real star of this movie, both in her performance and the character they created and wrote around her.  She is what makes this movie a whole lot better and a whole lot different than a ton of other buddy comedies.  Well done.

This has a nice supporting cast, and the overall feel of this movie is really refreshing. This is certainly set up to become a franchise as they leave the door wide, and I mean wide open for more.

The Nice Guys.  This is flat out good.