THE NICE GUYS

The MetaCritic reviews were generally favorable, resulting in an over-70 score. So I went. That was a mistake. This was the worst movie I've seen in a year. I'd rather sit through four hours of CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR than another minute of NICE GUYS. Crowe reminded me of late-period Depardieu, as in, what happened? The movie reminded me of the many late-period, washed-up DeNiro vehicles where the movie is unfunny, the actor is phoning it in. Add to that the NICE GUYS script is garbage, the laughs are nonexistent, the violence gratuitous, the 70s period uninteresting.... everything out of whack. INHERENT VICE is a much, much better recent 70s-style film. I wanted to walk out of NICE GUYS so bad. It never came close to earning the right to use the "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" intro as the background music during the title sequence. The movie is an eye-roller. It stinks. Instantly forgettable, which is its only blessing.

SCORE: 5.