Nice Guys

[DUKIECB]

Anybody taking this in over the weekend? Any early reviews (Jason?) The wife and I are thinking about going tomorrow night. It's getting good buzz on RT so I'm intrigued.

[luburch]

Anybody taking this in over the weekend? Any early reviews (Jason?) The wife and I are thinking about going tomorrow night. It's getting good buzz on RT so I'm intrigued.

It does look good. Thinking about catching a matinee one weekend soon..

[Doria]

I've caught my roommate suspiciously slowing the DVR fast forward speed when the TV commercials are on. I'm not too interested, mostly because 1) I know nothing about it apart from what I've seen in the trailers 2) as a genre, comedy is probably my least favorite (I love some, but by they're nature are hit or miss) and 3) I'm now really tired of the commercials.

I think I might save up my comedy tolerance for Central Intelligence, which I imagine to be a less ambitious movie, but one wherein you know exactly what you're getting. I know he wants to see that, too, though he hasn't really floated it to me, but he did queasily suggest going to see The Darkness (which looks horrendous) last weekend because he thought I might like it, so I feel sort of obligated to reciprocate. And CI seems like it might be a likable enough movie to turn your brain off and enjoy.

Or maybe I'll just go ahead and buy X-Men tix and spend this weekend cementing the tile counters in my kitchen and taking stuff to our storage unit. I also want to catch a couple LAX games, since some if you guys got me interested in the sport in the other thread.

However, if anyone does see this, please post your impressions!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Has Russell Crowe done much comedy before? Might open up an entire new audience to him.

[DUKIECB]

Has Russell Crowe done much comedy before? Might open up an entire new audience to him.

This is partly why I'm so intrigued, that and the positive reviews so far. He was hilarious on SNL a few weeks back.

[BD80]

Has Russell Crowe done much comedy before? ...

Do we count his role in Les Mis?

[JasonEvans]

Do we count his role in Les Mis?

If you thought he was funny in Les Mis, wait until you see his work in Noah! Comedy gold!!

In response to the initial poster, I am sad to say I have not seen The Nice Guys yet. I was out of town at a conference when they had the screening. I know some critics who saw it and they really liked it, said they laughed many times. Shane Black, the writer and director, is someone I generally trust to put together a nice script with good doses of humor (he did Iron Man 3, Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). He's really good at buddy comedy kind of stuff making this right in his wheelhouse.

-Jason "it is nice to see Russell Crowe in something lighter -- it feels like all his films are soooooo serious" Evans

[Tommac]

Saw it this afternoon and liked but not loved it. Crowe and Gosling were great together and Gosling's on screen daughter stole every scene that she was in. My only problem was the story which I thought was weak. But you will certainly laugh a lot. Much more humorous that I thought it would be.

[bjornolf]

A friend of mine said it reminded him a lot of Lethal Weapon in the mix of action, drama, and comedy. To me, that's high praise, but we'll see. If he's right, I wouldn't really call it a "comedy."

[Jim3k]

If you are a fan of black comedy, you will enjoy The Nice Guys. It is flawed, to be sure, but it is always funny, even as the murders mount. The movie’s opening scene signals its unexpected humor and its macabre nature. I would be spoiling it if I wrote about it, but it will take your breath away.

The movie creates a pair of pretty good/or pretty bad/or pretty lucky private eyes trying to find work in 1978 Los Angeles shortly after no-fault became available. So, the main source of a PI's income no longer exists. And the idea of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling teaming seedy is a sight to behold. They are held together by Gosling’s 13-year-old daughter (Angourie Rice) who serves as their Jiminy Cricket conscience. Rice is terrific, creating both laughter and dread. Another appealing child star on the rise.

Both Crowe and Gosling play well off each other. The Director, Shane Black, has created a truly funny mishmash which keeps you in stitches. Random, funny situations, yep. Slapstick humor, yep. Adult themes and language, yep. A bit of violence, yep. Everything necessary for a successful black comedy.

If the story line were a little better and made more sense, this would be an outstanding movie. As it stands, though, it is very good and the plot’s shortcomings can be forgiven. There is some repetitive stunt work which I think is overdone to the detriment of the film. The first stunt was good. The second time around, it loses its effectiveness.

Plus, mid-seventies Los Angeles brought back some personal memories of my three-year stint there.

Arty and brief nudity. Language. Rated R. Probably better for mid-teens and up. But see it. You will laugh.

[Udaman]

So...So....So...Disappointing.

I saw it on Friday, and it was fine. But just fine. It could and should have been fantastic, but they blew it. The three biggest faults (in order) were:

3). It was too long. By about 15 minutes or so. There were parts that just dragged on and parts that didn't need to happen at all.

2). The story was...inane. And that's me being nice. I mean it's not that hard to write a cheap conspiracy story. These writers couldn't even do that. And the daughter that everyone seemed to be looking for, was always so super easy to find. Grrrr.

1). The daughter of Gosling. Yeah, she was cute and sarcastic. But I HATE it in movies where they protagonists do something that NOBODY would ever do...like say take your daughter with you to the final confrontation, when you know her life would be at risk. Or leave your daughter at home when she has just been threatened. The young daughter and her importance to the movie literally ruined it for me.

Sigh.

Still worth watching...but for those of you who haven't, I would wait until cable. There's a reason it's getting such a low Cinescope rating from viewers.