Recently, Mick had the pleasure of watching The Nice Guys starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.
Taking place in the 1970's, The Nice Guys focuses on a hired muscle (Crowe) and an alcoholic single father/ private eye (Gosling) trying to track down a missing woman. This movie is a fun and frantic ride through the noir genre and is complete with all kind of twists and turns. At its core, it's a comedy about a growing friendship between two completely different men.
Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a borderline sociopath with a heart of gold. Sure, he beats people up for money and doesn't seem to care about who he beats up so long as he gets paid, but when he's off the clock he is a kind and optimistic man with a soft spot for children.
Holland March (Gosling), on the other hand, is your typical booze-soaked private eye. He loves his daughter and wants to protect her from all of the harsh realities of the world, but is also comically incompetent as a detective who spends most of his time drinking on the job.
Fate brings these two together to try to unravel a complicated and dangerous mystery involving porn stars, a broken arm, hitmen, and Holland March's inexplicable ability to survive any fall. The titular Nice Guys also get help from Holland's sassy/spunky daughter who's smarter than the two of them put together.
The script is tight and everything flows together seamlessly over the course of the movie's 2-hour runtime even as the mystery grows more complicated and confusing. The dialogue is natural and organic, due in no small part to the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling (they agreed to do this movie solely for the chance to work together).
Not only is there action and intrigue, but The Nice Guys is funny as hell as well. One scene in particular that stands out involves Gosling attempting to negotiate with a foul-mouthed boy on a bicycle for some information.
As of right now, you can watch The Nice Guys on HBO Now/GO or pay for it on Amazon and Youtube. Definitely give this movie a shot if you're looking for something relatively fun with a plot that sucks you in.