I feel dirty doing my second Drunk Movie Review under false pretenses, but I’m not going to lie to you guys, I watched The Nice Guys (2016) stone cold sober twice. Okay, I had one drink during the second viewing, but other than that I stayed away from the devil’s nectar. I intended to see The Nice Guys when it was released in theatres, and damn me for not shelling out the eight bucks necessary. This was an incredibly clever, well-written, detail-obsessed, brilliantly acted, and outrageously funny endeavor by Shane Black that never took itself too seriously, yet was packed with enough emotional scenes to make it a complete film. The film takes place in 1977 Los Angeles, an era and place teeming with sex, drugs, disco and stuff. Sorry, I meant: sex, drugs, and disco. The movie follows a private investigator named Holland March (Ryan Gosling), and professional goon Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) who meet up by happenstance. Both are looking for a girl named Amelia (Margaret Qualley), a mysterious young lady who gets herself involved in a national automobile/pollution scandal. March and Healy are aided by March’s 13-year old daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice). Together, the three work to find Amelia while simultaneously unraveling the mysterious murders of everyone in connection to Amelia and her fight against the automobile industry.

First and foremost, the plot is engaging and smart. It beautifully weaves together elements from classic film noir, action, and comedic genres while providing a uniquely charming spin to the clichés we’ve come to know and love. My absolute favorite thing about the writing was the reintroduction of minute moments from earlier in the story towards the end of the film that end up playing a crucial element. For example, in the colorful party scene near the beginning, March reveals to Healy that a blow to the head when he was younger caused him to lose his sense of smell. Healy comments on the irony of a detective without olfaction, and it gets a good laugh. However, Holly reveals to Healy later on that March carries guilt with him because his wife’s death was partially due to March’s inability to smell (you need to watch the film to really get this one). Brilliant, I say! That bit contains everything that I’ve already mentioned as to why I love this film: comedic moments in a film noir that also pack a heavy-hearted emotional punch.

What I also really love about this film is the acting. Gosling and Crowe bring the heat as a totally unexpected dynamic duo. They truly are a complementary tour de force of comedy and action with Gosling providing a majority of the slapstick humor (slapstick humor that’s actually funny…hard to come across in 2016), while Crowe provided many of the snide comments. I could go on and on about these two, but let’s face it; they’ve had enough praise throughout their careers already. I’m going to devote this section to the review to the two other rising stars of the film: Matt Bomer and Angourie Rice. Bomer has already appeared in a number of recognizable roles, most notably as Eric in the 2006 remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the titular role of Neal Caffery in the USA courtroom drama White Collar (2009-2014).

In The Nice Guys, Bomer plays a hit man who simply goes by the moniker John Boy (due to his resemblance of Richard Thomas’s character of the same name on the hit 70’s sitcom, The Waltons). He carries the role with the same ominous intensity that Javier Bardem brought to the character of Anton Chigurh in the Coen brother’s No Country for Old Men (2007), though Bomer adds his signature charisma and charm to the role that would’ve been inappropriate for Bardem’s. Like I alluded to previously, this isn’t Bomer’s first rodeo, but I’m certain that The Nice Guys is going to be the film that everyone references when Bomer hits stardom in the upcoming years.

Now on to whom I really want to talk about: Angourie Rice. She’s appeared in a few notable shorts, TV shows, and even the 2013 film Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, but 2016 was really the mainstream debut of Rice as she appeared in both The Nice Guys and Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows. Her role as Holly March, Holland March’s daughter…wow. What a presence this girl has at age 15. She easily pulled off the ultra-mature 13-year old, and made it so believable that I didn’t question her appearance in a majority of the action scenes once (I’m surprised Gosling didn’t have DHS called on him multiple times). This girl is the next Chloe Grace-Moretz, and she’s already following her career trajectory: Rice will be in the upcoming Marvel flick, Spiderman: Homecoming (2017), Rachel Perkins’ Jasper Jones (2017), and Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled (2017). In short, get ready to see her, a lot. Hopefully she doesn’t burn out like Dakota Fanning and she stays in the limelight while developing a successful career (a lot to ask for a young woman in this day). Despite what transpires, Rice gave a confident and nuclear performance in The Nice Guys, and I think she deserves moviegoers’ attention moving forward.

The Nice Guys: the writing, the action, the acting; it wowed me from start to finish. There are times where you do have to pay close attention to details, and like any noir film, it can be frustratingly difficult to watch if you miss them, but the film’s pacing gives viewers very little chance to miss what’s happening on the screen. It commands your attention with witty dialogue, great chemistry, and a shitload of fun. That’s why I’m giving The Nice Guys five bottle caps. Way to go, Shane! You’ve made up for Iron Man 3 (2013)…well, okay, no you haven’t, but good job nonetheless!

Thanks y’all for reading, tune in next month for another Drunk Movie Review!