It's Absolutely Criminal That The Nice Guys Doesn't Have A Sequel, So Rewatch It On Netflix
Once upon a time, Shane Black's "The Nice Guys" might have become a hit. That time, however, was not May 20-22, 2016, when the film opened in a distant fourth place behind that weekend's box office champion, "The Angry Birds Movie." Black was coming off the billion-dollar success of "Iron Man 3" when he decided to write and direct his film, an original buddy crime comedy in the same vein as his cult classic directorial debut, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." Even then, he probably realized it was useless resisting the once unstoppable tide of superheroes and franchises, but darn it if he wasn't going to try (much like his film's offbeat heroes do their darnedest to curb the ever-turning wheel of systematic injustice).
Based on a screenplay Black co-wrote with Anthony Bagarozzi, "The Nice Guys" winds the clock back for a sordid comical yarn of crime and corruption in haze-ridden Los Angeles circa 1977. When the aunt of newly-deceased porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio) claims to have recently seen her alive, it sets hapless private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) on a collision course with Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a belligerent enforcer. With Holland's brainy teen daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) along for the ride, these two ne'er-do-wells might just have a shot at cracking this case wide open. That's assuming they don't kill each other on the way, be it by accident or on purpose.
Ryan Gosling, unsung comedic maestro
Years before Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" had Ryan Gosling flexing his comedy muscles as Ken, "The Nice Guys" gave him a chance to cut loose after a decade of playing taciturn tough guys and wounded antiheroes. His character, Holland, suffers from an almost cosmic degree of bad luck, which he handles about as gracelessly as possible. He's the kind of gumshoe who accidentally cuts their own wrist while breaking the glass panel on a door, then immediately makes it worse by panicking like a chicken with its head lopped off.
While Gosling is hilarious (and nearly equal-parts tragic) throughout "The Nice Guys," he's doubly so whenever Holland's paired against Jackson, be they having a terse conversation as Holland tries to do his business on the toilet or being held at gunpoint as Holland fumbles to locate an ankle pistol that his bewildered partner isn't wearing. Russell Crowe's been having a blast going hammy as hell of late in films like "Unhinged" and "The Pope's Exorcist," but he's just as enjoyable while serving as the burley straight man to Gosling's bungling detective.
Every good clown needs a heart, though, and in Holland's case, he has his resourceful and determined daughter. As frustrated as Holly gets with her dad's continued inability to stop himself from falling apart at the seams, she loves him through thick and thin, and vice versa. Holly also brings out Jackson's kinder and more sensitive side (something "The Nice Guys" further spotlights by showing him learning new words as part of his daily morning routine). To be sure, for all of its pitch-dark humor, it's a film with a strong emotional core.
Love and happiness
"The Nice Guys" was a sizable flop at the box office, only bringing home $62.8 million against a $50 million budget. Its failure to turn a profit — much less secure a sequel — was indicative of the larger downfall of both original mid-budget films and adult comedies in theaters against the rise of streaming in the 2010s. In the end, having terrific critical word of mouth and a pair of big-name leads wasn't enough to attract a crowd to the film, and Shane Black himself would return to franchise fare right after with "The Predator" (which was itself a failure for completely different reasons).
Luckily, "The Nice Guys" doesn't need a sequel to satisfy. It's a relentlessly entertaining neo-noir romp that manages to play some jaw-droppingly violent or bleak moments for comedic effect (including what might be one of the all-time greatest goon deaths) in-between the more serious and melancholic twists and reveals in its "Chinatown"-style plot. Shane Black's written banter is sharp as ever here, too, although accounting for the film's slapsticky situations — many of which feature Holland — and occasional surreal sight gags, there's just as much in the way of inspired visual comedy to appreciate as there is of the spoken variety.
The film's delicate mixture of potentially explosive ingredients makes it a self-sustaining classic, much like Al Green's "Love and Happiness" (which plays out over the closing credits). Whether you're preparing to watch Ryan Gosling get his Ken on or are fresh off doing so, now's as good a time as any to visit "The Nice Guys" while it's still hanging around on Netflix.