Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
In 1977 Los Angeles, Holland March is a private eye hired by Mrs. Glenn to find her niece, porn star, Misty Mountains, whom she claims to have seen after her death. March's investigation leads him to Amelia Kuttner. A fearful Amelia hires Jackson Healy, a violent enforcer, to scare March away. After visiting March at his home and breaking his arm, he accepts a Yoo-hoo from March's teenage daughter, Holly, as he leaves. When Healy returns home (with a case of Yoo-hoo), he is interrogated by two thugs about Amelia. Believing Amelia is in danger, Healy wards them off, and teams up with a reluctant March, to find her.
The duo visit Amelia's anti-pollution protest group, and meet Chet, who brings them to the burnt-down house of Amelia's boyfriend, Dean, who died in the fire. They learn that Amelia and Dean were working with Misty on an "experimental film," combining pornography and investigative journalism.
The two infiltrate a party to search for the film's financier, Sid Shattuck. At the party, Healy discovers the film is missing, while March stumbles upon Shattuck's dead body, and crosses paths with Amelia. Holly, having snuck along to the party, stops one of the thugs from killing Amelia, but he is then struck by a car in a hit-and-run, and Amelia flees. Healy subdues the first thug, and finds the other dying in the road. He tells Healy that his boss has dispatched a hitman, nicknamed, "John Boy" to kill all witnesses. Healy discreetly kills the dying thug by strangling him. The police soon arrive at the scene.
March and Healy are met by Amelia's mother, Judith Kuttner, a high-ranking official in the Justice Department. Judith claims Amelia is delusional and hires them to find her, for which March demands $5,000 in payment. March and Healy then go to an airport hotel, where Amelia is meeting with distributors for the film. However, John Boy has arrived ahead of them and is slaughtering the distributors. The duo hastily retreat, only for Amelia to land on their car and accidentally knock herself unconscious.
They take her to March's house, where she accuses her mother of colluding with car makers to suppress the catalytic converter, which regulates exhaust emissions. Amelia created the film to expose their collusion and believes her mother has been killing everyone connected to the film. A disbelieving March calls Tally, Judith's assistant, and tells her Amelia has been found. Tally tells him the family's doctor will arrive to check on Amelia. At the same time, she tasks them with delivering a briefcase of money to Judith.
March accidentally crashes his car during the delivery, causing the briefcase to fly open, spilling out shredded paper; the delivery was really a diversion to draw them away from Amelia. John Boy arrives at March's house disguised as the family doctor, attacks Holly and her friend, Jessica, and engages in a shootout with the returning March and Healy. As John Boy evades the police, Amelia flees the house and unwittingly flags down his car, only to be shot and killed. The police question and release March and Healy, who have no evidence that Judith is behind the murders. March realizes that Mrs. Glenn saw Misty in a film projected against a wall. At Misty's house, they discover a film projector, with no film. They realize that Chet is the projectionist for the Los Angeles Auto Show, and will try to screen the film at the event.
At the auto show, Tally intercepts Healy and March at gunpoint. Holly distracts Tally, who is knocked unconscious. Amelia's film, which Chet spliced into the auto show presentation, implicates the auto executives. On the rooftop, March struggles with Thug #2; they both fall from the roof, but March lands in the pool while the thug falls to his death. Holly stops Tally from reaching the film. Healy overpowers John Boy, but spares his life at Holly's behest. March secures the film from thugs sent by the auto executives. Judith is arrested, but insists that it was Detroit who wanted Amelia dead, as she hired March and Healy to keep Amelia safe. Judith remarks that while she will go to prison, Detroit has still gotten away with trying to suppress the catalytic converter. At a bar on Christmas Eve, March shows Healy an advertisement for their new detective agency called, "The Nice Guys".
The duo visit Amelia's anti-pollution protest group, and meet Chet, who brings them to the burnt-down house of Amelia's boyfriend, Dean, who died in the fire. They learn that Amelia and Dean were working with Misty on an "experimental film," combining pornography and investigative journalism.
The two infiltrate a party to search for the film's financier, Sid Shattuck. At the party, Healy discovers the film is missing, while March stumbles upon Shattuck's dead body, and crosses paths with Amelia. Holly, having snuck along to the party, stops one of the thugs from killing Amelia, but he is then struck by a car in a hit-and-run, and Amelia flees. Healy subdues the first thug, and finds the other dying in the road. He tells Healy that his boss has dispatched a hitman, nicknamed, "John Boy" to kill all witnesses. Healy discreetly kills the dying thug by strangling him. The police soon arrive at the scene.
March and Healy are met by Amelia's mother, Judith Kuttner, a high-ranking official in the Justice Department. Judith claims Amelia is delusional and hires them to find her, for which March demands $5,000 in payment. March and Healy then go to an airport hotel, where Amelia is meeting with distributors for the film. However, John Boy has arrived ahead of them and is slaughtering the distributors. The duo hastily retreat, only for Amelia to land on their car and accidentally knock herself unconscious.
They take her to March's house, where she accuses her mother of colluding with car makers to suppress the catalytic converter, which regulates exhaust emissions. Amelia created the film to expose their collusion and believes her mother has been killing everyone connected to the film. A disbelieving March calls Tally, Judith's assistant, and tells her Amelia has been found. Tally tells him the family's doctor will arrive to check on Amelia. At the same time, she tasks them with delivering a briefcase of money to Judith.
March accidentally crashes his car during the delivery, causing the briefcase to fly open, spilling out shredded paper; the delivery was really a diversion to draw them away from Amelia. John Boy arrives at March's house disguised as the family doctor, attacks Holly and her friend, Jessica, and engages in a shootout with the returning March and Healy. As John Boy evades the police, Amelia flees the house and unwittingly flags down his car, only to be shot and killed. The police question and release March and Healy, who have no evidence that Judith is behind the murders. March realizes that Mrs. Glenn saw Misty in a film projected against a wall. At Misty's house, they discover a film projector, with no film. They realize that Chet is the projectionist for the Los Angeles Auto Show, and will try to screen the film at the event.
At the auto show, Tally intercepts Healy and March at gunpoint. Holly distracts Tally, who is knocked unconscious. Amelia's film, which Chet spliced into the auto show presentation, implicates the auto executives. On the rooftop, March struggles with Thug #2; they both fall from the roof, but March lands in the pool while the thug falls to his death. Holly stops Tally from reaching the film. Healy overpowers John Boy, but spares his life at Holly's behest. March secures the film from thugs sent by the auto executives. Judith is arrested, but insists that it was Detroit who wanted Amelia dead, as she hired March and Healy to keep Amelia safe. Judith remarks that while she will go to prison, Detroit has still gotten away with trying to suppress the catalytic converter. At a bar on Christmas Eve, March shows Healy an advertisement for their new detective agency called, "The Nice Guys".
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Nice Guys. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license