What's this all about?

I'm a guy with way too many interests and way too much time on my hands. A while back I realized that I spend a lot of my time just telling people I know about the various media I consume, so I just figured what the hell, let's just lay it all out. On here, you'll see my reviews of video games, films, books, tv shows, and more, but I've also decided to upload my hobbies here as well because why not?

The Nice Guys: Take Your Daughter to Work Day

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Probably not the weirdest sight to wake up to in seventies LA in all honesty...

My second film I watched on my flight to California was The Nice Guys. If I had to give a pitch for why I enjoyed this film to someone, I’d have to first mention my intense loathing for Dirty Harry because I like the former and despise the latter for seemingly the same reason: detective work. Both films are examples of atrocious detective work, yet where Dirty Harry obstructs and irritates with its depiction, The Nice Guys makes being a terrible investigator a source of comedy. It’s also a truly hilarious film, and while the overarching story does resolve bizarrely there’s plenty to enjoy in this film about two certainly not-nice guys.

The story of The Nice Guys is oddly enough, one of a massive corporate conspiracy involving car emissions and the porn industry. Yeah, weird. However, this only really enters the picture at the beginning of the climax, so it’s a bit of a bizarre choice despite being omnipresent throughout the film’s seventies-era Los Angeles setting (which does admittedly greatly justify the multitude of references). Hell, the whole focus on the porn industry is essentially the longest setup to a joke I’ve ever seen, and while it does work in relation to the plot (and is actually funny), in retrospect it seems more than slightly manipulative and I can only guess as to the motive. In addition, there doesn't seem to be really much of a point to the film's plot besides some sort of commentary (the main driving force is abruptly removed forty-five minutes from the end of the film). Yeah, the automotive industry is corrupt as hell and it would be laughable to suggest that car companies have never done anything as criminal as lie about their merchandise. That aside, each of the principle three characters (a bounty-hunter, a comically inept private eye, and his daughter) are each entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable characters that never truly outshine each other, so that was pretty nice (though the principle two emotional beats rang somewhat hollow to me). The highlight of the film for me however, was the film’s setting of Los Angeles itself. It’s difficult to describe, being something akin to a bipolar cartoon setting, where familiar faces are always right around the corner but punching glass is a one-way ticket to slashing your wrists. The use of recurring jokes and characters actually really helps the focus of the plot in a way, because when you count up each character that has more than one appearance, it’s not a very large cast. To be honest, I expected to have more to say regarding the story/plot of The Nice Guys, but I do not. It’s good, just not much that can really be elaborated upon.

The aesthetic of The Nice Guys is thoroughly rooted in the seventies, though with a seedy undertone. Pretty much every location carries at least some small note of unsightliness, whether it be a town home, bowling alley, or porn producer’s mansion. In terms of cinematography I didn’t note many interesting elements, but the use of snap cuts and brooding voiceovers (for irony) did create the most effective jokes for me throughout the film. 

Yeah, I didn’t have much to say about The Nice Guys. Does that make it a bad film? Not really, it’s just a film that’s less educational than entertaining, and that’s not a negative. I’d still heartily recommend this film to pretty much anyone, especially lovers of comedies. It’s not quite as good as some of the best comedies of the 2000’s but it’s up there. Worth at least a watch for sure.

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