The Nice Guys
Director: Shane Black
Screenwriter: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David, Kim Basinger
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated R |116 Minutes
Release Date: May 20, 2016

“Before we deal with the crime of the century, let’s get rid of the fucking rotting corpse.”

30 years ago, Shane Black sold his first screenplay to producer Joel Silver. An action flick about a strait-laced detective forced to team with an unhinged cop, Lethal Weapon was a huge success, spawning multiple sequels. Black’s storytelling set a new standard for action comedies and redefined the “buddy film” genre. He was one of the highest paid screenwriters in Hollywood, writing movies like The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and The Long Kiss Goodnight before disappearing in the late ’90s.

Black resurfaced in 2005 with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, his directorial debut. A neo-noir buddy comedy, the film follows a thief impersonating an actor and a private eye as they attempt to solve a murder. In 2013, he returned with Iron Man 3, a Marvel comic book movie that doubles as one of Black’s signature action-comedies. A snarky superhero and his by-the-books sidekick have to rescue the President of the United States from a terrorist who isn’t a terrorist at all, but rather an actor portraying one. Oh, and it’s set at Christmastime, too. It’s the most Shane Black thing ever, until The Nice Guys that is.