The Nice Guys

We need more stupidly fun film noir and who better to deliver the goods than Shane Black? The director, who co-wrote The Nice Guys with Anthony Bagarozzi, excels at creating slick buddy films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The Nice Guys centres around porn, a murder mystery, a femme fatale and an unlikely pair of private investigators. Set in 1977, private instigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is struggling with the death of his wife while trying to raise his clever daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) when he is forced to work with Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a tough guy who beats people for money. The duo are looking for a girl who has disappeared, but when the bodies start to pile up, they realise there is more to the case than they previously thought. Gosling is a hilarious goofball in this film, squealing at the sight of blood and constantly falling over, but the gags never feel cheap. Crowe packed on the weight to look comically different to Gosling and it works well. He plays Healy straight but still provides a lot of laughs. Rice is especially impressive considering her young age and holds her own against the big name actors. Matt Bomer also appears in a totally different role for him, playing an assassin. The Nice Guys is perhaps a little long and starts to lose momentum, but it is so much fun. I hope we get a sequel.