The two Stooges

Film review: The Nice Guys

MANILA, Philippines – You just have to hand it to Shane Black. He knows how to write buddy films, with cracking dialogue and crazy, preposterous set pieces that highlight his directing skills.

He wrote the screenplay for the first Lethal Weapon, then resurfaced writing and directing Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. His latest, The Nice Guys, which pits Ryan Gosling against Russell Crowe as hilariously mismatched private detectives forced to work together in 1977 Los Angeles, is a neo-noir comedy thriller that pushes the envelope by combining dark humor with exceptional physical comedy — a strange, volatile combination that suddenly looks fresh and vibrant. A sleeper hit in the USA and destined to be a cult classic, don’t miss out on this film if you like your comedy black, and love laughing against your better judgment.

The opening credits and soundtrack set the mood as we are treated to Isaac Hayes-type music; and we know Black will be championing bad taste as a virtue with a first scene that brings us a fatal vehicular accident that involves a young porn actress. Being introduced to our two main protagonists follows, and they are anything but Nice Guys, a dollop of sweet irony. The plot involves missing persons, the adult film industry and the American automotive industry ­— a strange brew. But forget the plot. The true stars of the film are the chemistry and repartee between Holland March (Gosling) and Jackson Healy (Crowe), and the added element, the moral core as it is, as personified in Holly March (Angourie Rice), Holland’s mature-beyond-her-years daughter.

I totally loved the commitment Gosling and Crowe exhibit in trusting Black to turn this film into a funny, buddy film that keeps springing surprise after surprise. Gosling and his stunt double should get extra kudos for being so ready to channel the physical comedy of Curly Joe of the Three Stooges in routine after routine. His scene discovering a corpse by a tree is downright precious. Angourie, who like Crowe hails from Australia, is a real find, and one can see a bright future for her in the film industry.

Matt Bomer, Ken in Magic Mike and a regular on the TV series American Horror Story, is another one ready to place his full trust in Black. Playing against type, his pretty boy persona; he now portrays a sadistic hit man. And look out for Kim Basinger, who actually acted with Crowe in LA Confidential, now doing scenes with nary a facial muscle moving.

Oftentimes silly, the film will be one of my top guilty pleasures of the year. It’s madcap, it makes us laugh for the wrong reasons, it defies logic, and is just so wrong in the right places — in other words, it’s good fun.