The Nice Guys (2016)

Confession time: the conspiracy in The Nice Guys makes no sense, and after a while the movie stops pretending it does. It’s a knot of a missing young woman, a car industry cover-up and a lot of 1977 smog, and the last act leans on one shootout too many. Then again, who’s here for the plot? Ryan Gosling plays a private eye who falls off things for a living, and his high-pitched scream in a bathroom stall is the funniest noise any movie star has made this century. Russell Crowe plays the straight man, a hired fist with surprisingly good manners. The secret weapon is Angourie Rice as March’s daughter Holly, smarter than both of them and always showing up where she absolutely shouldn’t. It made $71.3 million worldwide on a $50 million budget, so plenty of people missed out. An 8.0 because it’s the funniest buddy comedy in years, even when the plot wanders off. $22.95 says you try Gosling’s bathroom scream at home and somebody runs in to check on you.

What works: Gosling and Crowe are a great mismatched pair, and Angourie Rice turns the kid sidekick into the sharpest character on screen.

What doesn’t: The conspiracy plot gets tangled, and the last act leans on one too many shootouts instead of jokes.

Who it’s for: Fans of buddy cop comedies who like their jokes dry and their decades loud.