The Nice Guys

Plot

In 1977 Los Angeles, a boy named Bobby witnesses the death of fading porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio) in a car crash. Later that week, down-on-his-luck alcoholic private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is approached by Mrs. Glenn (Lois Smith), Misty's aunt who claims to have seen her niece alive after her supposed death. March is skeptical of her claim, but realizes that a missing girl named Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley) is somehow involved and accepts the job. However, Amelia does not wish to be found and hires unethical enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) to intimidate March into staying away from her.

Later that night, Healy is attacked at his home by two unnamed thugs credited as Blue Face (Beau Knapp)—so named after a dye pack in Healy's briefcase hits his face—and Older Guy (Keith David), who attempt to interrogate him about Amelia's whereabouts. After stunning the duo, Healy manages to ward them off with a hidden shotgun. He then teams up with a reluctant March to find Amelia before the thugs do. The two are assisted by Holly (Angourie Rice), March's young daughter, despite March's attempts to keep her out of the case for her own safety.

March and Healey find out that Amelia was working with Misty Mountains and an amateur filmmaker named Dean on an "experimental film"—equal parts pornography and investigative journalism—called How Do You Like My Car, Big Boy? about the smog in Los Angeles. Dean, however, mysteriously died in a fire that burned the film. The two end up at a party to search for the film's financier, Sid Shattuck, a notorious pornography producer. After fumbling through the party, a drunken March ends up finding Shattuck dead, while unknowingly coming across Amelia.

Holly, after attempting to investigate on her own, is tricked into a car by Blue Face and Older Guy. Healy fights with Older Guy, while Blue Face tries to kill Amelia from inside his car, only to be stopped by Holly, who warns Amelia and then escapes with her. While chasing them down, Blue Face is seriously injured in a hit-and-run. As he lies dying in the middle of the road, he reveals to Healy that their boss has dispatched a hit man named John Boy to kill Amelia, March and his family to prevent further witnesses. Healy discreetly strangles Blue Face to death to protect March and Holly, and lies to Holly that he died of his injuries. After a brief investigation, the two are greeted by Amelia's mother, Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger), a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice, who claims her daughter is delusional and paranoid and points them towards the Las Vegas mob trying to expand into the Los Angeles pornography scene.

Healy reveals the notepaper with March's address given to him by Amelia is the same type of notepaper he found at the party on which are written leads to an airport hotel where Amelia was going to distribute the film. Upon arriving at the hotel, however, they witness men there being slaughtered by John Boy (Matt Bomer) and hastily retreat, only to have Amelia jump from the building and land on their car. They take Amelia back to March's house, where she reveals that the people after her are working for a cabal of Detroit automakers. After uncovering evidence that they colluded to suppress the catalytic converter (which regulates exhaust emissions), Amelia created the film to expose their collusion.

Judith has her assistant, Tally (Yaya DaCosta), arrange for March and Healy to deliver a briefcase that supposedly contains $100,000. When March dozes while driving and accidentally crashes their car, the case flies open to reveal shredded magazines; the double-cross was a diversion to leave Amelia unprotected. Sent by Tally under the guise of being a family doctor, John Boy attacks Holly before engaging in a shootout with March and Healy as soon as they return to the house. Hearing the sirens of approaching police cars, John Boy drives off while an impatient Amelia has fled the house, only to be killed by John Boy on the street when he inadvertently comes across her attempting to catch a ride.

March and Healy try to bring the matter to court, but are rejected, as they have no evidence, leading them again to search for the film. The two have Mrs. Glenn show them where she saw Misty Mountains alive. Inside they find a hidden projector - the nearsighted Mrs. Glenn having mistaken footage of Misty for her niece - and deduce that there was a reprint of the film. They realize that the projectionist, Chet (Jack Kilmer), another protester they had questioned about Dean, is the projectionist for the film and had worked with Amelia to make the film public by splicing it into the presentation film for the Los Angeles Auto Show, which is being held at a hotel. At the auto show, the two find that John Boy and Older Guy, along with a few other thugs are already there and have interrogated a drunken Chet, learning that the film will be projected automatically from a window of the building. Healy and March attempt to reach it first, only to be intercepted at gunpoint by Tally. Before she can kill them, Holly arrives while pretending to be room service and knocks Tally unconscious. In a subsequent fight, Older Guy falls to his death, while Healy subdues John Boy. He spares his life at Holly's behest.

The detectives take the film to the police, and although Judith is arrested, the Detroit car companies escape punishment. When she talks with March and Healy before her trial, Judith claims she did not want her daughter killed and justifies her involvement by insisting that "what is good for Detroit is good for America." Healy and March decide to continue working together as private eyes, naming their agency "The Nice Guys".

Production

Like Black's previously directed film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys takes inspiration from Brett Halliday, namely his novel Blue Murder. Black initially wrote a version of the script along with Anthony Bagarozzi in 2001 which established the characters but otherwise was vastly different. According to Black, each would start with one detective, he with March and Bagarozzi with Healy. Along the way, they swapped characters and eventually wrote a first draft. This version of the script failed to attract any buyers, and then Black reworked it into a 64-page version that would serve for a television pilot. CBS became attracted to it, but given the contents led to many objections by the Standards and Practices department, it eventually did not progress. Black would later, upon promoting the release of the final film, speak disparagingly of the idea of the television series, stating that such a show "wouldn’t have been any good". By 2009, Bagarozzi suggested changing the film from a contemporary setting to the 1970s. Black's producer friend Joel Silver was initially wary of the idea as he felt audiences would not be as welcoming to a period piece, but he changed his mind after producing Sherlock Holmes. Black stated the change in time period helped as in contrast to "the divisiveness that we see now", the 1970s was full of multiculturalism and "was the aftermath of the protests and you got a sense that we are all in it together". The contents also drew to risqué films of the decade such as Vanishing Point and Five Easy Pieces. Bagarozzi noted how the title The Nice Guys aimed to be ironic and non-descriptive, as the two main characters were "literally the two worst people that we could think of and then trying to make that fun,” given "one breaks arms for a living and the other cons old ladies out of money."

After Black completed Iron Man 3 in 2013, Silver asked him what he wanted to do next, and he expressed interest in doing The Nice Guys. The scripts were sent to Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, and both wound up taking the roles specially for the prospect of working with one another. Gosling even stated that when he read the script already picturing Crowe as Healy, "the movie just immediately became so funny" as he had never seen Crowe in a similar role. Gosling and Crowe accepted in a period of three days, and Black cited the casting as the reason the film was able to move forward, summed up as "After thirteen years it just popped into place in three days". The film was announced in June 2014, and other casting news followed with Margaret Qualley and Angourie Rice officially joining in September. Matt Bomer, Keith David, Beau Knapp, and Kim Basinger were confirmed in October, and Ty Simpkins and Jack Kilmer were announced in November.

Principal photography began on October 27, 2014, in Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia. While production designer Richard Bridgland saw a challenge in that the green Atlanta differed too much from desertic Los Angeles, he found some fitting locations such as Dallas Austin's house, whose design was based on what architect John Lautner found in Southern California, and the Atlanta Hilton, which had not changed at all since being built in 1976. On October 31, a police station scene was filmed in Atlanta among extras. Filming also took place in Los Angeles, mostly to get exteriors of locations such as The Comedy Store.

Bridgland did his best to recreate the 1970s, researching from Super 8 films to documentary photographs, and basing the furniture on designers such as Verner Panton. Even the Misty Mountains glamour photography had Bridgland recruiting Arny Freytag, responsible for most Playboy centerfolds of the decade. For its part, Warner Bros. used its 1972–84 title featuring the "Big W" logo designed by Saul Bass for Warner Communications to open the film.

Music

John Ottman, who had scored Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, was brought to do the music for The Nice Guys along with David Buckley. Ottman drew inspiration from 1970s shows such as S.W.A.T. and The Dean Martin Show, with The Streets of San Francisco being a particular influence on the main theme. Ottman detailed that the difference to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was that now the music was more song-driven, with Black stating that the songs would contrast to the neo-noir tone by focusing on mainstream, exuberant songs of the decade.

Lakeshore Records issued soundtrack albums for both the featured music and original score. The soundtrack also got a special collector's edition vinyl designed by Los Angeles-based creative services company iam8bit to create "something that seemed like it was an artifact from the seventies" and also "drew from the fictional world of the movie and give you something tactile you can hold in your hand", with the gatefold being a 3D centerfold of Misty Mountains, and the packaging including posters of Sid Shattuck films and a business card for The Nice Guys Agency.

Release

In the United States, the film was originally scheduled for a June 17, 2016 release, which Warner Bros. moved up to May 20, 2016, giving its previous date to Central Intelligence. The film had its premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 11, followed by a 1970s-themed after-party at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and screened at Cannes on May 15. The film was released on digital on August 9, 2016 and DVD and Blu-ray on August 23, 2016.

Box office

The Nice Guys grossed $36.3 million in the United States and Canada and $21 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $57.3 million, against a production budget of $50 million.

In North America, the film was released on May 20, 2016, alongside Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and The Angry Birds Movie, and was projected to gross around $10 million from 2,865 theaters in its opening weekend. It grossed $700,000 during its Thursday night previews and $3.9 million on its first day. In its opening weekend the film grossed $11.3 million, finishing fourth at the box office behind The Angry Birds Movie ($39 million), Captain America: Civil War ($33.1 million) and Neighbors 2 ($21.8 million). Phil Walden of Forbes argued that the movie could have performed higher if not for sharing its release with Neighbors 2, which shared the same older demographic the film targeted.

Critical response

The Nice Guys received positive reviews from critics, with the comedic performance of Gosling being singled out for particular praise. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 261 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Nice Guys hearkens back to the buddy comedies of a bygone era while adding something extra, courtesy of a knowing script, and the irresistible chemistry of its leads." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.

Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising Black's writing, and saying: "If you like Shane Black, you will like The Nice Guys. It’s probably the Shane Black-est of all the Shane Black movies. Black has a knack for turning action movie expectations on their head mixed with knowing and rich dialogue." IGN gave the film a 9/10, writing, "Working from a tight and sharp script that perfectly balances the characters like a yin and yang of screw-ups ensures The Nice Guys is an absolute joy every step of the way." Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave 3 stars out 4 and wrote, "Forget about Kevin Hart and Ice Cube in Ride Along 2, or Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in Dirty Grandpa, or Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in Zoolander 2. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are the funniest duo of the year so far in The Nice Guys". James Berardinelli described the film as the 1970 version of Boogie Nights. Berardinelli wrote, "The Nice Guys is a refreshingly adult movie entering a marketplace saturated by teen-friendly superhero flicks and animated family fare. It's edgy (although not so edgy that it will turn off a mass market audience), funny, and fast-paced", and he gave a score of 3 out of 4.

On the other hand, Rex Reed of New York Observer gave a score of 0 and he felt that the film is "another sub-mental movie for morons churned out by the kind of sophomoric Hollywood machine that trademarks the works of Judd Apatow & Co." A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that the film lacks wistful, slyly political sense of history that Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice had. Scott wrote, "Even nostalgic nonsense requires more than attitude and energy, which is all that Mr. Black has to offer. And despite all its restless detective work, The Nice Guys is unable to track down a soul or a reason for being." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "That the film mostly falls flat has far more to do with the largely unconvincing material rather than with the co-stars, who are more than game for the often clownish shenanigans Black and his co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi have concocted for them; in fit and starts, the actors display a buoyant comic rapport." McCarthy, however, praised the production design (by Richard Bridgland) and costume design (by Kym Barrett) due to their "vivid reminders of how much L.A. has spruced itself up over the past 40 years"; and the cinematography (by Philippe Rousselot) due to "the figurative and possibly even literal use of a smog filter to evoke a physically and morally toxic environment."

Possible sequel

In May 2016, prior to the film's release, Black said of a follow-up, "I think it's a little premature to consider a sequel. I don't believe in jinxes necessarily, but we really need people to see this one before we can even talk about that. We're up against some stiff superhero competition and we just need people to, you know, maybe see Captain America six times, but not the seventh and see us instead."