THE NICE GUYS is the movie I'm recommending to all my friends.

Ok, this one really does exceed the hype (i.e. 90% on Rotten Tomatoes). It's the smartest funniest slam-bangiest fun studio pic I've been to in I don't know how long, and it NAILS the year 1977 in a way not seen since the movies that were actually shot that year. Ryan Gosling has never been more charismatic or riotously funny. Russell Crowe is the perfect yin to his yang. The cast is flawless top to bottom, especially the brilliant Angourie Rice playing Gosling's precocious teenage daughter. Just wow.

Yeah, it's got loads of cartoon violence, and yeah, there's a smattering of gratuitous nudity (none of which features either Gosling OR Matt Bomer, sadly). It's just a whipsmart saga about mismatched-gumshoe buddies with all the great script structure of a vintage William Goldman screenplay. Little wonder given that it's Shane Black's baby.

Who else has seen it and can weigh in?

Updated On: 5/22/16 at 12:26 AM

Someone in a Tree2 said: The cast is flawless top to bottom,

Except Kim Basinger, who is somehow getting worse as an actress.

I enjoyed it overall, but found it boring in parts. I definitely prefer Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.



sabrelady - The plot is convoluted, but I had no trouble following it.

Now we stand on opposite ends of the spectrum, Someone in a Tree2. I thought it was a decent amount of fun, and I was impressed with what it was willing to do narratively, but really it's just not funny enough, but still operates within comedic boundaries. This makes the heavy moments really not work. Gosling is also not strong enough at physical comedy to make his character the laugh-riot that it should be, and Crowe is good but not given much to do.

On the plus side, one can do worse than looking at Ryan Gosling for 2 hours, and the little kid was pretty funny.

And the Quinceañera scene is amazing.

I probably would have enjoyed this picture more if I were closer to the age of a frat boy. It's certainly well made but the gags are a little juvenile for my taste. But as mindless entertainment, it goes down easy enough.