YMMV / The Nice Guys

• Alas, Poor Scrappy: Possibly intentional. Amelia's really not that sympathetic or likeable once the main characters get to know her a little better, but her murder is so brutal and perfunctory you almost can't help but join in Healy's and March's dejection when they find out.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Did Amelia run away from Holland's just because she was scared for her life, or because she didn't want more people dying after they got close to her? Probably the former, as her last words to Holly was to pass along an insult to Healy, after which she instantly flagged down the first car she saw and begged him for a ride. That driver was John Boy, so it worked out rather poorly.
• Award Snub: While it was always a long shot, quite a few people, including critics, bemoaned the film's lack of Screenplay nominations.
• Awesome Music: John Ottman and David Buckley's score has a ton of highlights that perfectly match the film's energetic tone, including the main theme and "Disco Party Fight".
• Broken Base: Holly's insistence on saving Blueface and John Boy. Some think it's endearing and helps maintain the movie's surprising amount of heart while others find it to be a very illogical and stupid move on her part, especially considering both of them were very obviously willing to hurt her.
• Complete Monster: "John Boy" is a ruthless hitman hired by the Detroit mob to silence Amelia Kuttner and tie up loose ends connected to her. Arriving in Los Angeles and immediately murdering two businessmen who had dealings with Amelia, John Boy tracks Amelia to the home of Holland March, where John Boy threatens and nearly murders March's daughter and her best friend for standing in his way. Killing Amelia with wry amusement, John Boy later stages an attack on the Los Angeles Auto Show to prevent Amelia's filmed exposure of Detroit's criminal dealings from airing, brutally beating the teenage film projectionist and leaving him for dead in his search. Tossing a grenade into a crowd and killing innocents to cause panicked chaos, John Boy tries to kill March and his partner Jackson Healy, as well as anyone else who gets in his way, notably executing three harmless security guards after dispatching them.
• Cult Classic: Fortunately, what it lacks in box office success and award nominations, it makes up for it with a very dedicated fanbase and primarily enthusiastic reviews from moviegoers lucky enough to see it.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Amelia only gets four or five scenes with dialogue and is never the smartest or most likable person in the room. Nonetheless, she is considered a compelling and integral part of the movie for her status as a mysterious Action Survivor who wears a striking yellow dress and ultimately turns out to be hilariously kooky and self-righteous (albeit still making valid points).
• Friendly Fandoms: With the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to Shane Black writing and directing Iron Man 3 and Angourie Rice playing Betty Brant in Spiderman Homecoming.
• Genius Bonus: Though it's fairly well-lampshaded for the audience by March's 'electric cars' line, the average car enthusiast will know that Detroit and the Big Three car companies (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) were already on the slide by 1977; the car show seems to symbolize the ill-fated hubris with the big drop-top Caddy and the gold Corvette. Indeed, Healy's Olds Toronado is often thought of as one of the last great cars of the 1960s Detroit era, and contrasts hugely with the young girl's Volkswagen 181 "Thing" — exactly the kind of foreign compact car that hit the US industry so hard.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Healy punching out a man for preying on underage girls became a lot darker when it was revealed Shane Black was friends with a registered sex offender he provided acting work for, including this film.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Ryan Gosling's character Holland March keeps comparing people to Nazis and following protocol to Hitler on multiple occasions. Ironically, early in their careers, both stars Gosling and Russell Crowe had played Neo-Nazis (Gosling played a Jewish Boomerang Bigot in The Believer, while Crowe played one in his native Australia in Romper Stomper).
• Ho Yay: Much like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. March and Healy have a buddy-cop dynamic that's been popular among slash fans for a very long time. (At least since the 70s!) In addition, Healy's growing investment in their partnership is paralleled by a growing attachment to his partner's daughter, resulting in a lot of casual fandom references to Holly's two dads.
• Jerkass Woobie: Amelia comes across as somewhat loony, rude, and ungrateful once March and Healy manage to have a long conversation with her. Still, the death of her boyfriend (which she briefly looks genuinely pained over) and her knowledge that her mother is a Corrupt Bureaucrat who's working with the people who want her dead can make her somewhat pitiable.
• One-Scene Wonder
  • Holly's friend Jessica is pretty entertaining in her two (consecutive) scenes. She's amused when March and Healy discuss the case and has an expressive reaction when an assassin threatens her and Holly.
  • The various porn stars at Sid's party provide a memorable bit of color in less than a minute apiece, particularly the mermaids, the woman who complains about how her boyfriend or co-star ate asparagus right before a sex act, a bent-over woman with body paint who Healy briefly mistakes for a table, the innuendo-dropping Pinocchio, and the costumed man on stilts.
  • The young boy with the Porn Stash who witnesses Misty's death and covers up her body makes a powerful impression.
  • The foul-mouthed kid on the bike who March and Healy question near Dean's burned house and who tried to get Dean to feature him in the porno film.
• She Really Can Act: Angourie Rice's spirited, endearing, and hilarious performance as Holly was considered one of the movies highlights, which is saying a lot considering you have Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe on their A game.
• Shocking Moments: After so much of the film has been devoted to finding Amelia it's truly startling to see her unceremoniously gunned down.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Seeing how defeated Healy, March, and even Holly feel after Amelia is murdered.
  • Mrs. Glenn breaking down when she finally realizes that Misty really is dead.

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