The Nice Guys

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Shane Black/Starring: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, Keith David and Margaret Qualley

I really liked the idea of a buddy comedy starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Neither actor is known for comedic roles and the unlikely pairing is enough to intrigue even the most casual movie-goer. Unfortunately for director Shane Black's The Nice Guys, the concept alone isn't enough to overcome the film's deficiencies. How can a comic send-up of a noir set in the mid to late 1970s' possibly go wrong when the period and setting offer so much potential for satire and farce? Well, this is Hollywood; where any number of issues dealing with conception and execution can derail a film. For Black's flick, a dearth of gags is hardly the problem. What is the problem are the lack of quality gags and funny scenes, which fail to transmute grins to guffaws. As is so often the case with a comedy so heavily promoted as Black's film, the funniest stuff is in the trailer and if what you see in the preview doesn't elicit a giggle, then you're out of luck.

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling play detectives Jackson Healy and Holland March, respectively; who are brought together by chance when each find themselves embroiled in the same case involving a porn star who commits suicide. A person of interest in the star's death is a young woman named Amelia Kuttner, whose connection to the death is later made clear.

The meeting between detectives is hardly auspicious as Healy roughs up March after mistaking him for a cad chasing young girls. The bumbling March is an amusing contrast to Healy; a no-nonsense, violent man who gets quick results. Because Healy isn't technically a detective, he hires March to help him find Amelia. Their search leads them all over disco-era L.A. Along for the ride is March's young daughter Holly (Angourie Rice), who becomes a third member of the sleuthing team after she ignores her father's repeated commands to stay home.

Healy and March run afoul of some thugs hired to find Amelia, who represent an organized crime syndicate in Detroit. The baddies try to kill the detectives at a party where the two are chasing down a lead.

The early scenes show some comic promise as Holly proves to be the most level-headed member of the trio. Not a lot of snappy repartee passes between the three but their chemistry at least makes them worthwhile company.

In time, Healy and March meet with the head of the Justice Department, Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger), who has more than a passing interest in finding her daughter. She hires the two detectives to find Amelia.
Amelia's activities with a protest group who demonstrate against L.A.'s smog problem and the pollution generated by the Big Three auto makers in Detroit comes to light. The detectives discover Amelia is behind the making of a porn/protest film intended to be shown at an industry car show as a way of shaming the auto makers.

As Healy, March and Holly dodge hitmen and follow leads, they eventually discover Judith Kuttner is actually in cahoots with the auto makers and is intent on stopping her daughter. When the protest film is shown at the car show, Kuttner's thugs attempt to steal it, which results in a showdown with Holly and March.

The plot isn't exactly Chinatown though we shouldn't expect or want it to be but the story takes a detour from comedy to semi-seriousness, which places a kink in the fun.

Gosling shows a surprising flare for comedy though he could do better with better material. Crowe is mostly the straight man but he too shows some comedic ability. A scene where the two dispose of a body by throwing it over a wall, where it lands on a party below is amusing though we saw it coming in the trailer. Most scenes are all set-up with no comic pay-off. Gosling is at times over-the-top, particularly a scene where he whimpers uncontrollably.

As the film progressed, the silence in the theater became overpowering. What might have been a fairly funny noir parody became one more forgettable afternoon at the multiplex.

For all heavy promotion the film received and the commercial tie-ins (never trust a movie with tie-ins), the movie just came across as a factory product. Too bad; both Gosling and Crowe were game for some something different. The eternal question: will this become a franchise? The eternal answer; wait and see.

The Big Short

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Adam McKay/Starring: Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei and Hamish Linklater

I thought all the horrors of the economic recession of 2008 had been dramatized in film. The Company Men, Margin Call and the more recent 99 Homes have all given movie audiences a taste of what preceded or followed the near collapse of the American economy; a tragedy whose impact is still being felt domestically and abroad. But with director Adam McKay's The Big Short; adapted from Michael Lewis' non-fiction book of the same name, we learn there is still much to say--and learn--about the subject. And what may or may not be surprising to the viewer is that a film about said crisis can still elicit a powerful gag response. McKay's film, which is at times darkly comic, is absorbing from the opening bell while challenging us to fathom the abstruse minutiae of the housing market's rise and fall. Unlike the aforementioned films, The Big Short makes an earnest attempt to educate the viewer about the hows and whys of how the bubble burst.

Though the story is factual, McKays's characters are wont to tell us when the story strays into the fictitious with into-the-camera asides that lend the film an element of stage theatricality.

The story is told from the perspective of several Wall Street outsiders. One of them; a numbers prodigy and former doctor named Michael Burry (Christian Bale), is a hedge fund manager who foresees the imminent collapse of the mortgage lending market; a prediction for which he asserts much confidence. Unable to find anyone who will heed his warnings, Burry buys what are called credit default swaps (CDS). I'm not nearly qualified to explain the nature and functions of CDS', though characters in the film make an earnest attempt to illuminate the audience. In essence, they allow the holder to profit from defaulted housing loans.
Burry is seen as a loon when he visits several investment firms; Goldman Sachs among them, to buy up CDS' in mass quantity. His bulk purchases draw the attention of Wall Street and a major investor under Burry's consultation, who is less than happy with what he sees as investment disaster in the making.

But not everyone believes Burry is out of his mind. An investor named Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) sees that Burry's prognostication is worthy of attention, which prompts his own high volume purchase.

A misdirected phone call brings Vennett's investment to the attention of a trader named Mark Baum (Steve Carell), who, along with his fellow group of traders, becomes intrigued with the sudden interest in CDS traffic. We learn early that Baum is a man of unassailable integrity; his crusade against foul play and fraud on Wall Street is his most salient characteristic. Sometime later, Vennett meets with Baum and his team and in explaining his interest in CDS, he also takes the time to explain the intricate workings of sub-prime loans.

Skeptical of Burry's prophecy, Baum and his team embark on a fact-finding mission to Florida; a hot-spot for housing loans. Among those Baum and his colleagues encounter are a couple of arrogant real estate agents, who divulge their unethical practice of loan disbursement to those who would otherwise be unqualified. Baum's probing questions reveal disquieting facts about said lending practices, which the two men hardly feel the need to hide. Baum's associates confirm the real estate agents' claims when they visit an upscale home in an upscale neighborhood; where they find one occupant living beyond his means. This is followed by an absurdly funny scene where Baum visits a gentleman's club to talk to a stripper who has also benefited from lax housing loan practices to secure not one but several loans. Confident that what they've found confirms Burry's warnings, Baum initiates his own purchase though his superiors balk at what they believe to be a foolish investment.

A couple of young novice investors; Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Geller (John Magaro) also hope to purchase CDS' but a lack of reputation and standing on Wall Street stands as an impediment. Needing investment capital to achieve their goal, the two men seek a Wall Street player who might vouch for them and serve as their entree into the lofty world of investing. The man they approach is an eccentric retired banker named Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), who sees Jamie and Charlie are on to a solid, money-making scheme but also recognizes their success might come at the expense of the American economy.

In time, as the collapse approaches, all the parties invested in the CDS purchases begin to realize the magnitude of fraud involved the housing market decline, which they rightly attribute to the banking system. And when the collapse actually occurs and the economy goes to hell, we see its horrific effects as Wall Street personnel are dismissed from their jobs en masse while many of the unemployed are forced to join long queues of those looking for work in the hourly-wage world.

And as the collapse commences, Burry, Baum and Rickert are all very aware of what is to come while the more amoral Vennett, seen sitting at his desk alone; stares contentedly at a 47 million dollar check; the noxious fruit of his investment.
Given the widespread unscrupulousness of Wall Street, it is astonishing to find anyone felt any of the mess to be sordid and immoral.

McKay's film gives us a valuable and penetrating portrait of the causes and the aftermath of the 2008 economic collapse. This is accomplished with an outstanding script, expertly adapted by McKay and screenwriter Charles Randolph. The jargon and terminology of the Wall Street world is never an impediment to the drama. Without oversimplifying the material, McKay ensures we can follow along without succumbing to the dizzying developments, which never seem to be completely comprehensible (at least to me).

The ensemble cast is one of the best I've seen this year. Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Brad Pitt are all outstanding, as are the supporting cast. Carell's growth as an actor is proceeding swimmingly; showing us his flair for drama, which began with Foxcatcher.

McKay never adopts a self-righteous tone; the story itself speaks volumes about the evil perpetrated by the American banking system. We see a particularly affective scene near the end, where Shipley and Geller's exuberant celebrations are squelched by Rickert's sober reproach, who remind them that their windfall from their CDS' comes at the price of the lost jobs and homes.

The end subtitles tell us something about the aftermath. Rather than being punished, the bankers behind the disaster were instead bailed out by the American people. To render an already horrid tragedy ludicrous, the unrepentant bankers also received staggering bonuses. Another subtitle tells us about how Burry proposed informing the government how he came to anticipate the collapse, only to become the the subject of an investigation.

The Big Short is easily one of the best films of the year. Its intricate but riveting plot keeps our minds alert while showing us--contrary to what we've been taught--crimes do go unpunished, particularly those on Wall Street. It also demonstrates that accountability has become a whimsical notion in America. If only McKay's brilliant film could bring about some arrests...that would be lovely.