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Snappy dialogue, deadpan humour and a refreshingly pleasing no-nonsense mindset are just some of the components that make Shane Black’s latest cinematic effort, The Nice Guys, a hilarious retro buddy-action-comedy which, although not always smooth in its delivery, manages to offer plenty of excitement and genuine moments of hilarity.

Set against the somewhat sleazy backdrop of 1977 Los Angeles, the story follows unlucky-in-pretty-much-everything private investigator and single father, Holland March (Gosling), who has been hired to solve the mystery around the death of Misty Mountains (Tello); a famous adult film star who was allegedly spotted soon after the car accident that supposedly killed her.

Without offering it too much thought, Holland takes on the case and the trail soon brings him to his first – and only – lead; a young woman named Amelia (Qualley) who was apparently seen with Misty right before her ‘death’. However, before Holland gets a chance to investigate further, he is stopped by Jackson Healy (Crowe); a cold and brutal muscle-for-hire who also happens to be looking for Amelia after being recruited by her politically influential mother, Judith (Basinger).

Coming to realise, that they will require each other’s set of skills to get the job done, the pair soon find themselves deep inside the adult film underworld, where uncovering the truth is not as easy as they thought.

It takes a little while to get The Nice Guys on a an even road with the movie’s opening minutes a bit on the messy side with Black struggling to strike the right kind of balance and tone to set the story that is to come. However, things soon even out when the two investigators – hands-down one of the best onscreen pairings we’ve seen in a while – are united, with their almost-palpable chemistry and comic energy pushing the plot forward.

Gosling and Crowe are the heart of the story with the merciless but somehow loveable Healy working in perfect comedic harmony with the fast-talking and at-times weepy Holland. The 70’s backdrop is crafted with a great amount of detail, offering a genuinely retro feel – which serves to be almost a supporting character in the story – and a throwback to a time where sex, drugs and rock and roll were the order of the day.

Funny and occasionally pleasingly absurd, there are no nice guys in The Nice Guys, just a couple of endearing losers who will have you in stitches.