The Nice Guys and the Importance of But (Video Essay)

[@loganjenkins7459]

The part where the car drives itself in the dream is also a callback to the begining of the movie when Ryan Gosling wakes up in the bath to the news where the anchor says "these cars practically drive themselves" It's the little details that make this movie truly amazing.

[@Nobody6r]

Oh my God I never noticed that

[@commander_cody841]

And earlier at the bar when he’s saying the real problem is killer bees

[@christopherpardell4418]

The bee is a recurring theme thru the film, an overall callback to the year the film is set in, when the news and saturday night live sketches were full of stories about the Migrating of swans of killer bees, coming inexorably north from South America, thru Mexico and heading for the US border…of course the ultimate payoff was that last scene of the film when gosling over-reacts to a bee on the bar.

[@dkfilmguy6794]

Ryan Gosling's introduction of breaking the door glass and immediately cutting open his arm with a life threatening gash is an incredible subversion of the genre. We're expecting a cool, competent P.I. but instead, we meet this bumbling goofball who's probably gonna get himself hurt or killed.

[@stevecarter8810]

Reading this triggered a memory of all the bullshit we've seen lately in the name of subverting expectations. This is how you subvert expectations: with stuff that makes MORE sense than the trope, or at least follows from an "and therefore..."

[@mosquitopyjamas9048]

My favourite scene in nearly any comedy, and yea! It was the subversion that just killed me! So perfect

[@mosquitopyjamas9048]

@@stevecarter8810100% agree, this is satisfying subversion, it plays on a cliche but gives it an unexpected yet more realistic twist that’s both clever and hilarious

[@dakotawoodworth5937]

This was also something done because if I recall, Gosling had injured himself in real life prior to filming and so they wrote that injury into the character.

[@Ethanakawalter]

That's... That's a lot of blood 😂

[@lydia1634]

Ryan Gosling's scream in this movie will never not be funny.

[@mosquitopyjamas9048]

Ryan Gosling doing pretty much anything in this movie is hilarious

[@JohnSmith-mu8fx]

they even do it to the plot as a whole: the film is "the birds and the bees" but it is literally about the birds and the bees

[@mr.shyryhud1659]

This concept of “importance of but” is the best explanation why Mandalorian season 3 is awful. Things happen and then.. that’s it. Things happen and no choices or consequences happen.

[@gamecokben]

That entire season was like watching someone go grocery shopping

[@firienfeld]

Was this video essay made for me?? I'd never have thought to make that connection but The Nice Guys is perfectly contextualised by Trey and Matt's 'but'. this is so great, please keep it up!!

[@parkinglotedits6544]

Can’t believe your channel isn’t huge. Great content

[@parkinglotedits6544]

@reyrio6034 it’s probably hard to keep up that level of work without compensation / a ton of subscribers… Hoepfully he comes back now video essays are more populat

[@wbbartlett]

This & Kiss Kiss Bang Bang are two excellent movies. Two Days in the Valley is another great flick along similar lines.

[@shawnrostker4991]

I find this movie so funny and well written but I have always been left with just the slightest irk that the final line in the movie is not concluded as "to the birds...and the bees." I expected Russel Crowe's character to respond with "and the bees" because I thought it would perfectly tie together the bird meaning the bee meaning and the sexual theme of the movie lol

[@gamecokben]

You expected to hear "and the bees"...BUT...

[@christhechocchip]

​@@gamecokben underrated comment

[@wahn10]

I wasn't gonna watch this video, but, for some reason I clicked and therefore I now know how to write a better screenplay. Gosh, I love KZbin.

[@skachor]

Wow, this video was eye opening. And one last but with the title and the ending. Nice guys finish last, but in this case they just win.

[@johnyoung3397]

I wish more people had seen this awesome movie

[@DrMetPhD]

This was such an excellent analysis of an unerappreciated gem

[@jaspertandy]

I think about this film at least once a day and I force myself to not watch it so that I don't get bored of it.

[@wittwer427]

“I want to focus on the but” yeah… me too buddy… me too…

[@gabrieldeavila8631]

Bruuuuh, you got Ze Roberto playing in the background, that’s classy!!! Brazilian love right there

[@jamiedetwiler7261]

It’s so refreshing hearing someone praise Iron Man 3. It’s such a great movie

[@daviru02]

Best comedy/action movie in the past 50 years

[@DoooBeeDoooBeeDooo]

THANK YOU!!, FINALLY!!, the 3rd Iron Man movie is my favorite as well.

[@idanlewenhoff2295]

subverting expectations + reveling the audience to the plot from the end to the start

[@carljohnson6398]

Yo bro these videos are great Its about time to make a new one you never know it might kick this whole channel off

[@andrews5694]

Great video. Also, I agree about Iron Man 3.

[@WayStedYou]

4:33 Shane Black wrote and directed "The Nice Guys" BUT he did the same for "The predator" Kind of crazy he directed and wrote one of my favourite films in the nice guys and also the worst predator film out of the lot

[@Taylor-qe3yb]

great vid essay

[@generichouse]

The nice guys is such an underrated movie.

[@matthewsawczyn6592]

The cold coffee was one of the best subversions I’ve ever seen

[@Harkness197]

Such a great movie!

[@ShadowOfMoria]

nice analysis bro. nice guys was a thing i completely missed and based on the name just thought would be a horrible comedy. BUT, was proven wrong. Definitely a master piece.

[@colino686]

Love the iron man 3 appreciation

[@kylecook7187]

This movie fucking rules on acid.

[@benhutchinson8020]

Really underrated content

[@c3920]

Fantastic movie.

[@stevescott6577]

You ever gonna make some more vids?

[@thedudeabides3138]

Great essay, thank you.

[@nadaamr2779]

Great video Keep it up!!

[@zaviersyed8483]

W Iron Man 3 opinion, it is one of the beat MCU movies

[@metalliholic]

Great video!

[@KremsonKhan]

very well said, simple yet effective!

[@sanjanaparthasarathy7807]

This video gave me more clarity than every writing class I've taken lol

[@TomDestry]

KZbin: You like CinemaStix and The Closer Look? We've found something else you're going to like... Me: 🙂

[@traumachild1737]

Yet the same director of this masterpiece directed "The Predator"

[@GregorySigmundsson]

There was some serious studio interference on that one. I'm not saying Shane could have made it much better on his own, but it's a possible.

[@christiangacel]

What? This guys made 4 videos y vanished?

[@ddraigtribe8768]

I like your butt theory, therefore I'll use it Thanks 👍

[@haroldbirge6881]

🏆🍀🤣✌️

[@craigl.1856]

The only thing that I didn't like about this movie is that it moved Kiss Kiss Bang Bang down a notch on my favourites list...

[@verycoolguy5947]

Make one about ‘Seven Psychopaths’

[@leonmayne797]

The fractured and therefore whole would be a terrible video game.

[@adamespinoza7877]

Don’t say and stuff

[@johnskrip7174]

I don’t disagree with anything you said about The Nice Guys, I love that movie, but your Iron Man 3 argument would mean Shane Black at all considered the characters he was writing for, which are all defined characters that will react in certain ways in certain situations, none of which happened in that movie. Tony’s an idiot but he wouldn’t invite a terrorist to his house and have the only armor ready be a prototype. The Mandarin stuff is so dumb I’m not even gonna get into it, it only happened because Guy Pearce suggested he should be the real Mandarin. Shane Black’s improvisational plotting and quips dialogue do not work in an established universe like that, which is why Iron Man 3 fails as a sequel and as a Marvel movie and why I never return to it. If you disregard any of what I just said it’s a fun movie on its own, but as a Marvel fan that stuff is too egregious, and Trevor Slattery is an unlikeable character. Marvel needs strong stories told by directors that understand that universe, not buddy cop Shane Black. And I’m glad most people hate it and there was no Iron Man 4, The Nice Guys is one of my favorite movies. I know you said not to @ you, but I’m pretty sure you knew what can of worms you were opening.

[@apseudonym]

weird that you don't even reference black's other acclaimed works kiss kiss bang bang which is more like the nice guys than any of the other objectionable choices you made to cite

[@VorosMedve]

Love this movie, it’s hilarious.

[@johnskrip7174]

This is a really long-winded and unnecessarily complicated way of saying “It’s a good movie because Shane Black understands setup and payoff”. I can see why you stopped doing these essays.

[@WayStedYou]

Watch "The Predator" and see if he understands it still

[@pilgrim4954]

White man been here

[@Beegpapijimbo]

I was with you right up until you said something good about Iron Man 3, which was objectively terrible, and terrible story.

[@Red_Doomer]

Sorry mate but Iron Man 3 was.... trash, boring, predictable (yes even the ''but'')

[@ruly8153]

This movie is very overrated

[@NicoTheLai]

Buy yourself a tofu dessert and go to bed.

[@ligmaqueen6993]

um ok bye