Two serious guys get funny
A shaggy dog spoof of buddy-cop movies, "The Nice Guys" (⋆⋆½ out of four stars, rated R) gives Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling the opportunity to play bumbling, lovable rogues with goofy, shoot-the-works charm. Clearly enjoying the funniest parts of their careers, Crowe plays a beefy freelance bruiser and Gosling a doltish P.I. in this wisecracking neo-noir satire, which offers slapstick mixed with bloodshed. It's not a great or especially fine movie, but a good near miss.
COLIN COVERT
