The Nice Guys * * * * 1/2

"Flip gave us over 4."
 "Let him live another day"

This film is clever, funny, intelligent, fast and risky.  It goes to show what happens when you leave things alone. 

Shane Black has been writing screenplays for 30 years: Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout. He also wrote The Long Kiss Goodnight. They paid him a fortune for such a flawless script, but he says he could barely recognize that film by the time everyone added their piece to it. His film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is also highly regarded. Fortunately that wasn’t meddled with.  Neither is this. Shane Black has written and directed The Nice Guys without interference - Thank God!

Shane Black has a recipe that has worked well for him in the past.: Two crazy guys and chaos.
Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe play a pair of Private Investigators in LA in the 70’s.  Well, Russell Crowe’s character is more of a head-kicker for hire to be exact; whilst Ryan Gosling is more of a failed PI than a reassuring one.  He is offset by his much more intelligent thirteen year old daughter.

Both Gosling and Crowe take to their roles with relish.

The Nice Guys is deceptive so pay attention. It has such a knockabout humour you could be fooled into thinking this is going to be a wafer thin plot - it isn’t.  It’s got quite a few twists and even now I think I missed a few things.  I’ll probably go back for a second viewing.

Basically a girl called Amelia has gone missing, an old lady is willing to pay a lot of money to have her found.  A bunch of heavies are willing to break a lot of bones and shoot a lot of people to have her found.  A woman in charge of a Government Department is happy to write a big cheque to have her found. Meanwhile Amelia does not wish to be found.

In the days when the car industry happily promoted petrol guzzlers Amelia and her friends are willing to go to great lengths to save the planet (these were the days when only a trouble maker would protest about the environment).

Great lengths means getting caught up with the porn industry and mixing with the wrong types.  

In their pursuit of Amelia, The Nice Guys gate-crash Hollywood parties, car shows and have their own homes and apartments gate crashed in response.

The situations, dialogue and energy of this film is furious and fast.  Many of the scenes are shocking in their outcome: More than once you’ll be asking...“What!? Did he just say that? Did I just see that?!!".  The characters are funny, full of faults yet thoroughly likable.

The Nice Guys is one of the best,most exciting, chase-screwball comedies I have seen for many a year.  I'd even welcome a Nice Guys 2 if it's as good as this.