The Nice Guys (2016)
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A private eye and a violent enforcer must team up in 1970s Los Angeles to solve the mystery of a missing girl.
The story
Set in 1970s Los Angeles, the film follows Holland March, a private eye, and Jackson Healy, a violent enforcer for hire. The two men find themselves forced into an uneasy alliance when they must investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl. As they navigate the gritty underworld of the era, they must work together to uncover the truth behind the girl's disappearance while dealing with the dangers of the criminal elements surrounding the case.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1977 Los Angeles, private eye Holland March is hired to find a porn star, Misty Mountains. His investigation leads him to Amelia Kuttner, who hires a violent enforcer, Jackson Healy, to scare March away. After a series of events, the two men end up teaming up to find Amelia. They discover she was working on an 'experimental film' combining pornography and investigative journalism. During a search for the film's financier, they encounter a hitman named 'John Boy' who is eliminating witnesses. Amelia's mother, a high-ranking official, hires them to find her, claiming she is delusional. They eventually discover Amelia was trying to expose a conspiracy involving car manufacturers and the suppression of catalytic converters. After a series of violent encounters and a chase involving 'John Boy', Amelia is tragically killed. The duo eventually realizes the truth about the conspiracy and, despite the tragedy, decide to form a detective agency together.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Shane Black
- Writers
- Shane Black · writer; Anthony Bagarozzi · writer
- Cast and characters
- Russell Crowe · Jackson Healy; Ryan Gosling · Holland March; Angourie Rice · Amelia Kuttner; Matt Bomer · Chet; Margaret Qualley · Misty Mountains; Keith David · Tally; Kim Basinger · Judith Kuttner
- Genres
- neo-noir; buddy action comedy; comedy; action; crime
- Themes
- Partnership; Conspiracy; 1970s Nostalgia
- Tone and mood
- Humorous; Action-packed; Gritty
- Premise and plot tags
- Buddy Film; Detective; Period Piece
- Source material / true-story basis
- Brett Halliday's novel Blue Murder
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics for its humor, mystery, and the performances of its leads, and has gained a cult following for the chemistry between the main actors.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · scale: percentage · review count: 326; Metacritic · score: 70 · scale: 100 · review count: 51; PostTrak · score: 75% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- Robert Downey Jr. has a brief uncredited cameo as the corpse of Sid Shattuck.; The film's production design was based on research from Super 8 films and documentary photographs.; The film was originally scheduled for a June 17, 2016 release but was moved up to May 20, 2016.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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