The Goslingaissance is upon us. It wasn’t too long ago that Ryan Gosling was one of the most in-demand stars in Hollywood, heading up successful rom-coms such like Crazy Stupid Love and balancing that with respected work in prestige pictures such as Blue Valentine and Drive. But he’s been unusually quiet in recent years, appearing in the little-seen arthouse features Only God Forgives and his debut effort as a director, the visually striking Lost River. With one credit behind the camera to his name, Gosling has now re-centered his attentions on acting and is poised for a banner year on the heels of his work in The Big Short. He’ll headline alongside his Crazy Stupid Love costar Emma Stone in this fall’s musical La La Land from Damien Chazelle, but before that, he’ll take a refreshingly comedic turn in Shane Black’s ’70s-set comedy noir The Nice Guys.
The newest trailer for the feature, due May 20, puts Gosling’s nearly-forgotten comedic chops front and center. The business from the first trailer featuring Gosling scrambling to handle a toilet-stall door, a cigarette, a magazine, and a gun all at once was golden, and there’s even more slapstick goodness in the latest spot. Particularly delightful: Gosling accidentally smashing his hand open while breaking a window, any and all squealing, nicking himself while shaving in the car, and sobbing in the elevator. After years and years spent in the indie-drama wilderness, the former Mouseketeer is once again willing to show us how much fun he can be. His appearance in last year’s The Big Short was an invaluable reminder that Gosling can be a transfixing, energetic presence onscreen when the script calls for it, and the bone-dry black humor typical of Shane Black’s writing makes for a perfect fit. With the Goslingaissance in full swing, good times are here again, though chances are that they won’t continue into the more somber-sounding Weightless, Terrence Malick’s romantic drama about intersecting love triangles in the Austin, Texas, music scene. That does still sound pretty great, though, and who doesn’t love the instantly iconic on-set photo of a guitar-wielding Rooney Mara slugging whiskey?
