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The Nice Guys

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For The Nice Guys comedy group, see James Maclurcan.
The Nice Guys
Theatrical release poster
Directed byShane Black
Written by
  • Shane Black
  • Anthony Bagarozzi
Produced byJoel Silver
Starring
CinematographyPhilippe Rousselot
Edited byJoel Negron
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • May 15, 2016 (2016-05-15) (Cannes)
  • May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[2]
Box office$57.3 million[3]

The Nice Guys is a 2016 American mystery-crime thriller action comedy film directed by Shane Black and written by Black and Anthony Bagarozzi. The film stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David and Kim Basinger and follows a pair of 1977 Los Angeles private eyes who investigate a missing girl.

The Nice Guys premiered on May 15, 2016, at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on May 20, 2016. Despite receiving positive reviews from critics, it grossed just $57 million against its $50 million budget.[3][4]

Plot

In 1977 Los Angeles, a boy named Bobby witnesses fading porn star Misty Mountains (Telio) die in a car crash. Later that week, down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Gosling) is approached by Mrs. Glenn (Smith), the aunt of Misty Mountains who is obsessively claiming to have seen her niece alive. March is skeptical of her claim, but realizes that a missing girl named Amelia Kutner (Qualley) is somehow involved and accepts the job. However, Amelia does not wish to be found and hires enforcer Jackson Healy (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 (Knapp) - so named after a dye pack in Healy's briefcase hits his face - and Older Guy (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 (Rice), March's young daughter who disapproves her father's methods and ethics, despite March's attempts to keep her out of the case wishing for Holly's safety.

The two then 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, as they were both protesters against the growing air pollution. 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 Shattack, a notorious pornography producer. After fumbling through the party, a drunken March ends up finding Shattack 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 half-dead 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, later claiming to Holly that he died of his injuries. After a brief investigation, the two are greeted by Amelia's mother, Judith Kutner (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 identical to a paper he found at the party, which gives leads to an airport hotel where Amelia was going to distribute the film. However, they witness the men there being slaughtered by John Boy (Bomer) and hastily retreat, only to have Amelia land on their car from the building where she is accidentally knocked out. They take her 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 How Do You Like My Car, Big Boy? to expose their collusion rather than going to the media as she believed that they and the government were a part of the conspiracy. Judith has her assistant, Tally (DaCosta), arrange for March and Healy to deliver a case that supposedly contains one hundred thousand dollars. However, a half-asleep March accidentally crashes their car and the case is opened to reveal shredded magazines, causing them to realize that they have been double-crossed. At home, Holly is confronted and attacked by John Boy, who had been sent by Tally under the guise of being a family doctor. March and Healy arrive back at the house and engage in a shootout with John Boy. John Boy escapes, while an impatient Amelia leaves, only to run into and be killed by John Boy.

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 poorly-sighted 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 (Kilmer), another protester they had questioned about Dean, is the projectionist for the film and had worked with Amelia to make How Do You Like My Car, Big Boy? 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 throws coffee at Tally. Holly's plan is initially unsuccessful as the coffee is cold, but Tally soon slips on the spill and knocks herself unconscious. In the subsequent fight, Older Guy falls to his death, while Healy subdues John Boy by knocking him out cold. He spares his life for Holly's sake.

The detectives take How Do You Like My Car, Big Boy? to the police and though Judith is arrested, the Detroit car companies are immune to any charges, due to insufficient evidence. 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." Afterward Healy and March decide to continue working together as private eyes, naming their agency "The Nice Guys".

Cast

Production

The 70's in L.A. was wild. There was so much smog that actual SIRENS would sound from time to time, telling you to go indoors. The glamour capitol was fast becoming the porn capital, and every other store front on once-fab Hollywood Boulevard boasted XXX windows. Presiding over this sin souffle was the ultimate symbol of decay -- the Hollywood Sign, in tatters; falling off the hillside, unrepaired and neglected. Great arena, almost Biblically compromised... and a fine arena, we thought, for two tarnished angels to haunt.

Shane Black sums up the film's setting, [5]

Like Black's previously directed film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys takes inspiration from Brett Halliday, namely his novel Blue Murder.[6] Black initially wrote a version of the script along with Anthony Bagarozzi in 2001 which established the characters but otherwise was vastly different.[7] 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.[6] 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".[7] By 2009, Bagarozzi suggested changing the film from a contemporary setting to the 1970s. Black's producer friend Joel Silver was initially weary 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.[8] 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.[9] 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", given "one breaks arms for a living and the other cons old ladies out of money." It was and then trying to make that fun,"[10]

After Black released Iron Man 3 in 2013, Silver asked him what he wanted to do next, and he expressed interest in doing The Nice Guys.[8] The scripts was sent to Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, and both wound up taking the roles specially for the prospecting 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.[11] 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".[9] The film was announced in June 2014,[12] and other casting news followed with Margaret Qualley and Angourie Rice officially joining in September.[13] Matt Bomer,[14] Keith David, Beau Knapp,[15] and Kim Basinger were confirmed in October,[16] and Ty Simpkins[17] and Jack Kilmer were announced in November.[18]

Principal photography began on October 27, 2014, in Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia.[19] On October 31, a police station scene was filmed in Atlanta among extras.[20] Filming also took place in Los Angeles.[13]

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.[21]

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,[22] with Black stating that the songs would contrast to the neo-noir tone by focusing on mainstream, exuberant songs of the decade.[23]

Lakeshore Records issued soundtrack albums for both the featured music and original score.[24] 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.[25]

The Nice Guys: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"The Temptations3:20
2."Get Down On It"Kool & The Gang2:58
3."Boogie Oogie Oogie"A Taste of Honey1:44
4."September"Earth, Wind & Fire3:27
5."Couldn't Get It Right"Climax Blues Band3:03
6."Love and Happiness"Al Green2:10
7."Dazz"Brick2:23
8."Boogie Wonderland" 1:18
9."Jive Talkin'"Bee Gees5:56
10."Rock and Roll All Nite"Kiss3:20
11."Ain't Got No Home"The Band4:27
12."Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"Rupert Holmes2:06
13."Lonely Boy"Andrew Gold4:47
14."A Horse With No Name"America1:51
15."Green Peppers"Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass4:45

Release

In the United States, the film was originally scheduled for a June 17, 2016, release,[26] which Warner Bros. moved up to May 20, 2016, giving its previous date to Central Intelligence.[27] The Nice Guys 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.[10] 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 North America and $21 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $57.3 million, against a budget of $50 million.[3]

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.[28] It grossed $700,000 during its Thursday night previews and $3.9 million on its first day.[29] 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).[30] 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.[31]

Critical response

The Nice Guys received positive reviews from critics.[4] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 92%, based on 249 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."[32] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.[30]

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."[34] 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."[35] 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".[36] 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 4.[37]

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."[38] 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."[39] 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."[40]

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."[41]

References

  1. ^ "The Nice Guys (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  2. ^ Svetkey, Benjamin. "'Lethal Weapon' Wunderkind (and Former Party Boy) Shane Black Is Back ... and Still Looking for Action". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b c "The Nice Guys". The Numbers. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Captain America' faces new 'Neighbors' and 'Angry Birds' at box office". latimes.com.
  5. ^ Black, Shane (May 20, 2016). "Hey /r/movies, Shane Black here. I've made films like Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and premiering tonight The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe. AMA!". Reddit. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Black, Shane (2016). The Nice Guys: From Script to Screen. Rizzoli. p. 7-10. ISBN 978-0-8478-4981-9.
  7. ^ a b Giroux, Jack. "Interview: 'The Nice Guys' Director Shane Black Discuses His Latest Urban Western". Slashfilm. p. 1. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b Milczarski, Kathryn (May 18, 2016). "An Action-Packed Career: Producer Joel Silver on 'The Nice Guys'". BoxOfficePro.
  9. ^ a b Shane Black Q&A: How Ryan Gosling Helped ‘The Nice Guys’ Get Made After 13 Years
  10. ^ a b Cavassuto, Maria (May 11, 2016). "Ryan Gosling on Working With 'Hero' Russell Crowe in 'The Nice Guys'". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  11. ^ ‘The Nice Guys’: Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe on Playing Shane Black’s Latest Onscreen Couple
  12. ^ "Ryan Gosling & Russell Crowe May Be 'Nice Guys' for Shane Black". firstshowing.net. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  13. ^ a b Kit, Borys (September 16, 2014). "Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe Thriller 'Nice Guys' Casts Female Leads". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  14. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (September 29, 2014). "Matt Bomer Joins Ryan Gosling & Russell Crowe In 'The Nice Guys'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  15. ^ Kit, Borys; Ford, Rebecca (October 20, 2014). "'Nice Guys' Casts Its Bad Guys". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  16. ^ Kit, Borys; Ford, Rebecca (October 21, 2014). "Kim Basinger Joins Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe in 'Nice Guys'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  17. ^ "Ty Simpkins Joins 'The Nice Guys'". deadline.com. November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  18. ^ Ford, Rebecca (November 13, 2014). "'Palo Alto' Actor Jack Kilmer Joins 'Nice Guys'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  19. ^ "Ryan Gosling's 'The Nice Guys' is Now Casting Actors for a Very Featured Role". projectcasting.com. October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  20. ^ "Ryan Gosling's 'The Nice Guys' Casting Call for a Police Station Scene". projectcasting.com. October 28, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  21. ^ ‘The Nice Guys,’ successful buddy comedy and thriller, takes us back to the 1970s in style
  22. ^ Audio: “On the Score” with “X-Men: Apocalypse” composer John Ottman
  23. ^ "LAKESHORE RECORDS PRESENTS THE PERFECT SOUNDTRACK FOR THE SUMMER" (Press release). Lakeshore Records. May 6 2016. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "THE NICE GUYS: SCORE ALBUM FEAT. JOHN OTTMAN & DAVID BUCKLEY COMING SOON, FILM STARS RUSSELL CROWE AND RYAN GOSLING". April 21, 2016.
  25. ^ Hart, Hugh. "Packaging The Nice Guys '70s Music Vibe". WhereToWatch.
  26. ^ "Russell Crowe-Ryan Gosling Pic 'The Nice Guys' Gets Summer 2016 Release Date". deadline.com.
  27. ^ Patten, Dominic (March 19, 2015). "Warner Bros Moves Up 'The Nice Guys' For Comedy 'Central Intelligence'". deadline.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  28. ^ "'Captain America' To Step On 'Angry Birds', 'Neighbors 2' & 'Nice Guys' – Box Office Preview". deadline.com.
  29. ^ "'Neighbors 2' Parties Harder Than 'Angry Birds' Thursday Night – Box Office". deadline.com.
  30. ^ a b "'Angry Birds' Is The Word With $42M-$44M No. 1 Opening; 'Neighbors 2' Lower With $25M – Box Office". deadline.com.
  31. ^ Walden, Phil (May 26, 2016). "As 'Angry Birds' Soared, Why Did 'Neighbors 2' And 'Nice Guys' Miss At Box Office?". Forbes.
  32. ^ "The Nice Guys (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  33. ^ "The Nice Guys reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  34. ^ Ryan, Mike (May 15, 2016). "'The Nice Guys' Is A Blast To The Past (And Also Just A Blast)". Uproxx. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  35. ^ Thompson, Simon (May 15, 2016). "The Nice Guys Review". IGN. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  36. ^ Roeper, Richard (May 17, 2016). "'The Nice Guys': Crowe, Gosling hard-bitten but hilarious". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  37. ^ Berardinelli, James (May 19, 2016). "Nice Guys, The (U.K./U.S., 2016)". Reelviews. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  38. ^ Reed, Rex (May 18, 2016). "Gosling and Crowe—an Unholy Alliance". Observer. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  39. ^ Scott, A.O. (May 19, 2016). "Review: 'The Nice Guys' Pairs Gosling and Crowe as Slapstick Detectives". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  40. ^ McCarthy, Todd (May 15, 2016). "'The Nice Guys': Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  41. ^ http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Why-Nice-Guys-2-Isn-t-Table-Just-Yet-According-Shane-Black-132837.html
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