Director’s misstep hinders Nice Guys

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Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys.

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys.

At times uproariously funny, at others maddeningly frustrating, this L.A. film noir set in the late 1970s is the first chapter for what Warner Brothers hopes will be a series of movies. There’s no question that many of the pieces are in place for such a venture as the two leads, Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, have a natural chemistry that’s a delight to behold and the basic premise – these guys have one foot in the cesspool of the City of Angels, the other in the Hollywood studios – is rife with possibilities. However, a miscalculation on the part of Black and co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi threatens to disrupt the delicate balance achieved by the two stars.

Crowe is Jackson Healy, a grizzled cynic who works as an independent detective despite not having a license. He crosses paths with Holland March (Gosling), a single father who also happens to be the worst … private … eye … ever. His intentions are good, but he has a drinking problem and is easily rattled so the chips are stacked against him. This odd couple gets caught up solving the murder of porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio). It seems that everyone involved in the making of her last movie has turned up dead. Throwing a curveball at our heroes is the fact that Ms. Mountain’s aunt (Lois Smith) insists that she saw her two days after her death, raising the question of whether she’s alive or not.

As with the best mysteries, the plot contains more than a few twists, all of them springing from a place of solid narrative reasoning that allows all of the pieces to fit together logically once they’re uncovered. By the time the film gets to its satisfying ending, the auto industry and the local arm of the federal justice system are involved, as are a colorful array of hoods, smart alecks and even a doppelganger that winds up being more than just a cheap plot device.

Whereas the interplay between Crowe and Gosling is effective and the situations they find themselves are inventive, the problem with the film revolves around the character of March’s daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice). While initially it’s funny to see that she’s much smarter than her father and his new partner, the fact that she’s repeatedly put in danger wears a bit thin. Yes, her father is a mess, but even he couldn’t possibly be so out of it that he’d allow her to accompany him to a party populated with drug-taking porn stars and gun-toting thugs. I’m no prude, but her presence took me out of the story whenever she appeared, which could have been told just as effectively without her.

While this is the only misstep Black commits with The Nice Guys, as it remains an inventive and entertaining film, this one element prevented me from being completely swept away, which should be the intent of any filmmaker, no matter what genre they’re working in.

For a review of The Meddler and an interview with that film’s director Lorene Scafaria, go to the Cinemascoping blog at http://illinoistimes.com.

Contact Chuck Koplinski at [email protected].