There is likely not going to be a more striking opening scene this year than director Shane Black's The Nice Guys. In a film that explores the automotive and adult film industries as they tear apart Los Angeles in 1977, the moment in which a car drives through a small suburban house is both abrupt and full of rich imagery. The car crash victim is Misty Mountains, of whom the film will spent the next hours focused around. It's a dark comedy, and one that also services as a strange but endearing father-daughter drama among the seediness of the perverse culture. By the end, the film never manages to be as poignant as those first few minutes. However, it's still one of the most entertaining rides that have come out this summer so far.
There's little that's necessarily new about Black's vision of 70's L.A. that even he hasn't done before. Having gained fame for his mythical Lethal Weapon script, he has made a career around making seedy characters do odd things. While he has only been directing movies since 2005, his entire filmography manages to feature wittiness among the dark humor that makes him, if nothing else, one of the more enjoyable crime writers. His creativity knows no bound in the right circumstances, and he has even used it to make one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movies with Iron Man 3. However, he feels most at home in The Nice Guys when forced to mix in film noir references to The Big Heat with a cast lead by the endearing team of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. It's a delightful comedy, and one that works better than its nuts and bolts.
Like most of the best noir films, the mystery is the least interesting piece of the puzzle. In this case, the most interesting piece is Gosling and Crowe, who together make for an unassuming team of detectives. Both are introduced to each other when their cases overlap, and Crowe breaks Gosling's arm as a threat. From there, it becomes a slow bonding period in which there's a price tag to work together, and even that is limited to a few days. These two are by no means professional, but they are scrappy and ambitious enough to at least try to get the job done. With a funky 70's soundtrack, the film becomes a smorgasbord of retro charm sandwiched in between references to Richard Nixon being the grim reaper, and the ongoing smog problem that continues to haunt Los Angeles. There are a few jokes clearly meant to make fun of hindsight, but the charisma between the duo is nevertheless more engaging than its weak points.
What probably works beyond the black comedy and the morally flexing logic of the film is that it's inevitably a father-daughter drama at its core. Gosling's daughter (Angourie Rice) services as the moral compass of the film, choosing to fight crime without killing and going where she isn't allowed. Speaking as she's the most reputable character in the film despite being several decades younger, it adds for a nice mix. The tragically comic Gosling (who has the phrase "You will never be happy" written on his hand) spends the film trying to bond with his daughter despite realizing that he's a drunk and a screw-up, barely able to do his detective job correctly. However, it's in the quest to better oneself that the film finds its emotional core. Yes, it continues to be perversely violent and does end with Crowe resorting to alcoholism. However, it's a triumphant cry of the miracle by which these characters have survived.
The film itself is a little tougher to admire from a mystery standpoint. Yes, there's a lot of references to the automotive and adult film industries. Both dovetail nicely in the third act. However, the film chooses to go the route of absurdist heights at times instead of making for a legitimate and concrete plot. It doesn't manage to capture a delightfully confusing ineptness like Inherent Vice did two years ago. However, Black loves his style too much to ever allow for too long of a dull moment. As long as one doesn't go in expecting things to make sense, the film will reward nicely with some of the more creative and shocking uses of violence in a film this summer. It may not have its politics figured out, but at least it knows how to laugh.
The Nice Guys is a great film if just enjoyed for its neo noir charm. Much like the best of the genre, it's more about the detective than the case. In fact, the film seems to realize this and spends most of the running time on Crowe and Gosling riffing. That's perfectly fine, and few can do it as entertainingly as Black. However, those wanting a deeper and more complex story will be sorely disappointed. It does address important issues to the era, but never manages to make the mystery coincide with grander themes. It isn't a bad thing, and one could only hope that mainstream cinema could be this engaging and bizarre. Until then, there's always Black, who has a good thing on his hands and will hopefully not leave out the possibility of a sequel. This is just too good to say farewell to.
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