History YMMV / TheNiceGuys

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/RyanGosling'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 Creator/RussellCrowe had played Neo-Nazis (Gosling played a Jewish BoomerangBigot in ''Film/TheBeliever'', while Crowe played one in his native Australia in ''Film/RomperStomper'').

** The various porn stars at Sid's party provide a memorable bit of color in less than a minute apiece, particularly the mermaids, the innuendo-dropping Pinocchio, and the costumed man on stilts.

* HarsherInHindsight: Holly reading by flashlight in an empty lot at first underscores what an independent kid she is despite Healy's instinct to protect her. Later, it becomes clear that her relative self-sufficiency is a consequence of her sole surviving parent being [[AlcoholicParent a drunken wreck]]... and the open field she was reading in used to be ''their house'' before it burned to the ground.

* HoYay: Much like ''KissKissBangBang''. 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 [[FanNickname a lot of casual fandom references to]] [[HasTwoMommies Holly's two dads.]]

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/RyanGosling's character Holland March keeps comparing people to Nazis, while Creator/RussellCrowe's character Jackson Healy compares people following protocol to Hitler on multiple occasions. Ironically, early in their careers, both Gosling and Crowe had played Neo-Nazis (Gosling played a Jewish BoomerangBigot in ''Film/TheBeliever'', while Crowe played one in his native Australia in ''Film/RomperStomper'').

* GeniusBonus: 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 the 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.
* HarsherInHindsight: Holly reading by flashlight in an empty lot at first underscores what an independent kid she is despite Healy's instinct to protect her. Later it becomes clear that her relative self-sufficiency is a consequence of her sole surviving parent being [[AlcoholicParent a drunken wreck]]... and the open field she was reading in used to be ''their house'' before it burned to the ground.

** Seeing how defeated Healy, March, and even Holly feel after [[spoiler:Amelia is murdered.]]

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The DreamSequence with an enormous talking bumblebee in the backseat of March's car.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Marsh's antics earlier in the film, once you realise the severity of his drinking problem.

* HarsherInHindsight: Marsh's antics earlier in the film, once you realise the severity of his drinking problem.
** Holly reading by flashlight in an empty lot at first underscores what an independent kid she is despite Healy's instinct to protect her. Later it becomes clear that her relative self-sufficiency is a consequence of her sole surviving parent being [[AlcoholicParent a drunken wreck]]... and the open field she was reading in used to be ''their house'' before it burned to the ground.

* Bratty Teenage Daughter: Holly. YMMV as to how annoying you think she is.

** Mrs. Glenn breaking down when she finally realizes that Misty really is dead.