Hollywood is in the throws of ecstasy right now. Between all the remakes, sequels, and prequels they're coming out with, people are just throwing them their money. At the end of the day, that's really all that Hollywood cares about. Money. Which is pretty sad because then the money making machines like Disney who is doing a live action remake of its whole filmography, Star Wars, every comic book company ever, and Harry Potter (even though the new films are based off a textbook, based off a movie, based off a book written by a money grabbing author who doesn't know when to stop messing around with her own art) top the bills and leave no room for well written, well cast, and ORIGINAL pieces of Hollywood cinema.
*Sigh*
But I digress. Today I want to highlight an original piece of cinema like I was ranting about above. The amazing detective and borderline film noir, The Nice Guys. This is one of the best roles Ryan Gosling has played since Drive (2011), but couldn't be more opposite. Through a certain turn of events, tough guy Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) and alcoholic private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) team up to investigate the death of a porn star, find a missing girl, and try not to get killed.
We've seen the buddy detective movie before, but this was a fresh spin on it. Taking place in 1970's Hollywood, it gives you equal amounts of glimmer and grime. The highs were high and the lows were low. Shane Black, the director, sums up the film's setting perfectly:
"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, un-repaired and neglected. Great arena, almost Biblically compromised... and a fine arena, we thought, for two tarnished angels to haunt." -Shane Black on the film's setting
The comedic relief from Gosling was very well done. None of it felt forced or too over the top. The banter unfolded naturally, and the wit passed so smoothly between him and his daughter, it was like water under a bridge. Crowe was totally in his element, that much is certain. It's nice seeing him starting to make a comeback from 2012's Les Mis.
The buddy cop/detective plot device is a longstanding one in both film and literature. To make a successful story and create characters with depth and motivation, the studio has to be creative and almost reinvent themselves to not bore the audience or self plagiarize their earlier works. All of this is definitely executed flawlessly in The Nice Guys, even if they themselves aren't the picture of perfection.
Go out there and support original cinema. Create that need in Hollywood again. You won't regret it.