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Analysis
In the weeks leading up to the release of Barbie, another Ryan Gosling film was getting a bump: “just watched the nice guys. ryan gosling the first father to ever mother.”
Shane Black’s 2016 neo-noir dramedy The Nice Guys, which is currently on Netflix, was recommended quite a bit on Twitter, and if you’re looking for more of Gosling’s “Kenergy,” the film delivers.
Starring Gosling and Russell Crowe as two bumbling L.A. private investigators looking into the death of an adult film star and uncovering a conspiracy, The Nice Guys flew under the radar at the box office when it was released in 2016. But it developed a cult following in the years since, thanks largely to streaming and word of mouth.
While it’s a buddy comedy set in the late ‘70s, there are some very “Ken” moments, like Gosling punching a glass window and immediately having to go to the hospital, and his Kenergy extends to the physical comedy of the bathroom stall scene, or falling down a hill while flirting with a woman at a party.
But Gosling and Crowe have great chemistry, and the writing delivers jokes at a rapid clip. The Nice Guys also has standout performances from Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, and Margaret Qualley, and you get to hear Gosling’s trademark scream. (And if you saw Oppenheimer, make sure to check out Robert Downey Jr. in Black’s excellent 2005 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.)
Why it matters
Earlier this year, Crowe floated an idea for Nice Guys 2on a podcast, which would likely see him and Gosling starting a detective agency, and there were some other rumors about a sequel, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Gosling is starring in a The Fall Guy reboot next and Crowe is in the upcoming Kraven the Hunter.
In the meantime, Barbie is breaking records at the box office.
