arloGet the appMovies like The Nice Guys
2016 · Movie · R · your starting pointIf you want that specific blend of mismatched-buddy chemistry, escalating stakes, and darkly comic banter, you'll likely find it in Cop Out or Making a Killing—both nail the snowballing chaos and quippy rapport between investigators who stumble into bigger trouble than they bargained for. For a different angle, Heat swaps the humor for existential weight while keeping that obsessive cat-and-mouse dynamic through a corrupt LA landscape, though you'd be trading laughs for dread. If you're after the 1970s procedural feel specifically, Mannix or The Stone Killer probably scratch that itch better than anything here, though neither quite captures the comedic timing that makes The Nice Guys feel like a hangout movie disguised as a crime story.
Movies like The Nice Guys, ranked
1. The Stone Killer (1973)
The Stone Killer pairs a cynical cop with procedural legwork through a similarly labyrinthine 1970s crime underworld where each clue uncovers another layer of corruption and violence.
2. The Good Guys
Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe's mismatched detective chemistry translates perfectly to this Colin Hanks-led buddy cop series, which similarly mines humor from competent professionals constantly baffled by escalating absurdity.
3. One Body Too Many (1944)
An insurance salesman stumbles into a murder investigation with the same screwball comedic timing and layered mystery-solving that unfolds through mismatched characters bumbling toward unexpected truth.
4. Heat (1995)
Michael Mann's LA crime epic shares The Nice Guys' fascination with skilled antagonists circling each other through a corrupt city, but trades wisecracks for existential dread as the cat-and-mouse game builds toward inevitable collision.
5. C.C. & Company (1970)
Director Seymour Robbie crafts the same rollicking buddy-cop energy through mismatched protagonists caught in escalating desert chaos, where comedic banter masks the genuine danger lurking beneath their reluctant partnership.
6. Charlie's Angels (1976)
The episodic case-of-the-week structure pairs perfectly with the buddy banter and self-aware humor that makes investigation stories feel like hangouts between capable misfits solving crimes in a stylish 1970s setting.
Tell me what kind of night it is — I'll pick the one for you.