The unlikeleiest of detective partners have to solve a mobster crime in 1970’s Los Angeles, in Shane Black’s newest buddy cop comedy, “The Nice Guys”. Set during the drug ages of LA, down on his luck and failing private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling), a small time detective with a reputable name, and hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a loose cannon of violent rage, must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a famous porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking mob conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power within the city’s government. Holland and Jackson must get to the bottom of this twisted mystery, while surviving the brutal streets that seem to have something deadly waiting behind every corner. During their trials, the duo take several unorthodox methods to form the perfect team for the perfect crime. “The Nice Guys” also stars Kim Basinger and Matt Bomer, and is rated R for violence, sexuality involving nudity, adult language and brief drug use.

“The Nice Guys” is Shane Black’s loveletter to the 1970’s porn culture surrounding Los Angeles, and one thing is clear from his vision for this movie; the guy is definitely a student of the decade. The film fires on mostly all cylinders, but the two very best points for it is in its stylized authenticity for the designs and culture of the 70’s, and its brutally honest R-rated sense of humor. More on the latter later, but even the tiniest of detail succeeds to offer a visual masterpiece with this film, proving that style has its own buddy cop in substance. The wardrobe and automobiles offer a faithful recollection to when big auto and bright colors ruled the world. While most movies get these things right most of the time, it was in the smaller details that really convinced me that I was watching a film from the 70’s that just happened to have Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. Everything from the 70’s velvet paintings on the walls, to the vintage cans of Crush soda on the coffee tables gives the film a visual tapestry of authentic nostalgia for anyone who lived during the disco era.

In addition to the visual props, comes the style and editing from behind the camera that Black has been known for since his earlier work like “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”. The revolving and panning up shots of downtown Los Angeles really transition the scenes magnificently, and really gave me a great appreciation for how unorthodox that style of dangerous photography really is. In its strange own way, LA is its own character in this film, and the very bright lights and posh lifestyles really breathe life into the film’s atmosphere and big city tone that communicates that anything and everything are possible within its limits. Black also brilliantly shoots the action within the film up close and personally without using any of the shaky camera effects that are cliche for the current genre. The cinematography and style of the film are very much faithful to the decade it spoofs, so there’s certainly plenty of acceptance for grainy coloring and shading within the film’s visual design. All of these details set the stage perfectly for this story, and I easily lost myself within the believability of what was presented in front of me.

As for the material of the film, the movie comes out firing out of the gate with a first act that offered plenty of gut-busting laughs, as well as solid character building that really relays the kind of backstories that we are dealing with in March and Healy. These are two borderline bumbling idiots who barely have enough willpower to make it day-to-day, and those traits really kind of cast an original spin on the buddy cop genre. These aren’t unstoppable big-muscled badasses, but instead two struggling small-timers who live their lives by the bottle. One surprising aspect is that there are very little dull moments in this script, despite a near two hour run time that only feels bloated during the second act. It’s in this period when the movie sacrifices its sense of humor to focus more on the mystery, and honestly I just didn’t feel like the mystery of the movie was interesting enough or even that difficult to predict. All of the clues were easily laid out, so I never really was surprised with where the ending was heading. Luckily, the third act of the movie restores the good times and fun to the film, while opening us up a little more to the troubled pasts of our two main protagonists.

Crowe and Gosling emit such an on-screen chemistry and knack for comedic timing for such a first time pairing. The film is definitely at its most enjoyable when these two are bickering back and forth over the dumbest things, and their schtick never felt expired despite the fact that they clash heads throughout the film. Who really stole the show for me was the fourteen-year-old Angourie Rice. Despite having the best name that I have heard in ages, Angourie really made this movie fun for me with some entertaining one-liners that really etched her name playing opposite of two Hollywood heavyweights. Rice portrays Holly with a maturity that goes well beyond her years, and It’s certainly great to see a child actor who doesn’t overact, or say illogical things that a young teenager would never say. She serves as the brains and determination of this group, and I loved the funny exchanges that she had with Gosling, as she searches for a role model who finds himself at the bottom of every bottle.

“The Nice Guys” springs an atmospheric fun time to the silver screen that constantly leaves you aching from non-stop laughter, as well as the butt-kicking action that packs fire to the 1-2 punch that Shane Black crafts. It’s a slick 70’s thriller-com that tickles every bone in our entertainment vertibrae

8/10