The Nice Guys 4K UHD Review
“The Nice Guys” is a puzzling cult classic.
2016’s “The Nice Guys” is a 1977 set buddy comedy action-crime film written by Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi. The story (which is an homage to hardboiled Detective stories) revolves around a Private Detective (Holland) and Jackson (an enforcer for hire). The prone to trouble Holland is an alcoholic single father to the precocious Holly. He takes on a case to find a presumed dead porn star (Misty Mountains) but finds himself getting entangled in a mystery involving a missing girl (Amelia). Jackson visits Holland and tells him to stop looking for Amelia after she hired him to scare Holland away. That should have been the end of things, but it turns out others are looking for Amelia too. Now, Holland and Jackson reluctantly team up to find Amelia and discover a complex plot involving smog, an adult film, the head of the Justice Department, and hitmen.
Directed by Shane Black and produced by Joel Silver, “The Nice Guys” was seen as a financial disappointment but has become a cult favorite over the past 9 years. Admittedly, the film becoming a film buff favorite is rather puzzling to me. On the surface this should have been a winner. Shane Black is a talented writer who penned classics like “Lethal Weapon” and “The Monster Squad,” the cast is as good as it gets, the 70’s set Detective story is ripe for storytelling possibilities, and the buddy-comedy element should have been a homerun. Alas, the film never connected with me at all. The tiresome mystery, the tedious Amelia runaway moments, and the overlong final act really drag the film down. The much buzzed about humor also falls completely flat for me. It’s the type of quirky humor that feels so forced to the point of being cloying. Humor is subjective to be sure, but the violent humor, the banter, the talking bumblebee, the endless Gosling screams, “and stuff” didn’t elicit any laughs from me. It might work wonders for others, but it never clicked for me.
In terms of the cast, it’s absolutely stacked with talent such as Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Angourie Rice, Kim Basinger, and Keith David. Everyone’s game for the material, but it’s Crowe that fares the best here. It’s nice to see the actor dabble more in comedy (even if the comedy rarely works) as opposed to more dramatic films. Gosling is very Gosling here. This is the kind of lighthearted character he often plays. It’s fun to see Margaret Qualley prior to her becoming a breakout star. Even in a limited role here she stands out.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p. How does it look? Fans will be pleased by this crisp 4K upgrade.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? From the car chases to the shootouts, this Atmos track put the speakers to work.
Extras include “Always Bet On Black” (a featurette on Shane Black with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage) and “Worst. Detective. Ever.: Making The Nice Guys” (a making of featurette with interviews, story and character discussions.
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