50 Movies Like The Nice Guys (2016) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View The Nice Guys details →Shane Black funnels his gift for barbed banter and morally grubby heroes into this 1970s Los Angeles crime comedy, where a mismatched private eye and a strong-arm enforcer poke at the death of a fading adult-film star and stumble into something bigger. The pleasure lies less in the mystery than in the sun-baked period texture, the deadpan timing, and two leads sniping their way through a case neither fully understands. It suits viewers who like their detective stories loose, funny, and a little sleazy, with the plot serving as an excuse for great scenes rather than the other way around. Come for the chemistry, not the clockwork.
If you loved The Nice Guys (2016) by Shane Black, here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Baywatch, Bad Boys II, 21 Jump Street. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to The Nice Guys
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with The Nice Guys in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Baywatch
2017 · Seth Gordon
Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon butts heads with a brash new recruit. Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Bad Boys II
2003 · Michael Bay
Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey of the Miami Narcotics Task Force are tasked with stopping the flow of the drug Ecstasy into Miami. They track the drugs to the whacked-out Cuban drug lord Jo
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
21 Jump Street
2012 · Phil Lord
When cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover as high school students. They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, and set o
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The A-Team
2010 · Joe Carnahan
A man who loves when a plan comes together, Col. Hannibal Smith leads a close-knit team of elite operatives and Iraq War veterans. Framed for a crime they didn't commit, Smith and his men, Capt. H.M.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Miss Congeniality
2000 · Donald Petrie
When the local FBI office receives a letter from a terrorist known only as 'The Citizen', it's quickly determined that he's planning his next act at the Miss America beauty pageant. Because tough-as-n
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
22 Jump Street
2014 · Phil Lord
After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on th
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Army of Thieves
2021 · Matthias Schweighöfer
A mysterious woman recruits bank teller Ludwig Dieter to lead a group of aspiring thieves on a top-secret heist during the early stages of the zombie apocalypse.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
2022 · Tom Gormican
Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, Nick Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited b
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Johnny English Reborn
2011 · Oliver Parker
The most prominent heads of state in the world begin gathering for a conference that could have a major impact on global politics. When MI-7 receives word that the Chinese premier has become the targe
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Deep Cover
2025 · Tom Kingsley
Kat is an improv comedy teacher beginning to question if she’s missed her shot at success. When an undercover cop offers her the role of a lifetime, she recruits two of her students to infiltrate Lond
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
2 Guns
2013 · Baltasar Kormákur
A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- the very organization the two men believe they hav
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Money Train
1995 · Joseph Ruben
When a vengeful New York transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares, his foster brother—a fellow cop—tries to protect him.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Pineapple Express
2008 · David Gordon Green
A stoner and his dealer are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
2024 · Mark Molloy
Forty years after his unforgettable first case in Beverly Hills, Detroit cop Axel Foley returns to do what he does best: solve crimes and cause chaos.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Pain & Gain
2013 · Michael Bay
Daniel Lugo, manager of the Sun Gym in 1990s Miami, decides that there is only one way to achieve his version of the American dream: extortion. To achieve his goal, he recruits musclemen Paul and Adri
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
2011 · John Whitesell
FBI agent Malcolm Turner and his 17-year-old son Trent go undercover at an all-girls performing arts school after Trent witnesses a murder. Posing as Big Momma and Charmaine, they must find the murder
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
48 Hrs.
1982 · Walter Hill
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
2024 · Adil El Arbi
After their late former Captain is framed, Lowrey and Burnett try to clear his name, only to end up on the run themselves.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The Naked Gun
2025 · Akiva Schaffer
Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world: Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. Following in his father's footsteps, he must solve a murder case to prevent Police Squad
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Beverly Hills Cop
1984 · Martin Brest
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case l
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The Big Lebowski
1998 · Joel Coen
Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged
In common: Comedy · Crime
Hot Fuzz
2007 · Edgar Wright
Former London constable Nicholas Angel finds it difficult to adapt to his new assignment in the sleepy British village of Sandford. Not only does he miss the excitement of the big city, but he also ha
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Blue Streak
1999 · Les Mayfield
Miles Logan is a jewel thief who just hit the big time by stealing a huge diamond. However, after two years in jail, he comes to find out that he hid the diamond in a police building that was being bu
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Beverly Hills Cop II
1987 · Tony Scott
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover th
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The Heat
2013 · Paul Feig
Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence--and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins, one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Spy
2015 · Paul Feig
A desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent diabolical global disaster.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Training Day
2001 · Antoine Fuqua
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
In common: Action · Crime
Polar
2019 · Jonas Åkerlund
When a retiring assassin realizes that he is the target of a hit, he winds up back in the game going head to head with a gang of younger, ruthless killers.
In common: Action · Crime
Skiptrace
2016 · Renny Harlin
A detective from Hong Kong teams up with an American gambler to battle against a notorious Chinese criminal.
In common: Action · Comedy
Taxi
1998 · Gérard Pirès
In Marseilles a skilled pizza delivery boy Daniel who drives a scooter finally has his dreams come true. He gets a taxi license. Caught by the police for a huge speed infraction, he will help Emilien,
In common: Action · Comedy
21 Bridges
2019 · Brian Kirk
An embattled NYPD detective, is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred on who he is p
In common: Action · Crime
Rush Hour 3
2007 · Brett Ratner
After a botched assassination attempt, the mismatched duo finds themselves in Paris, struggling to retrieve a precious list of names, as the murderous crime syndicate's henchmen try their best to stop
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
2021 · Patrick Hughes
The world’s most lethal odd couple – bodyguard Michael Bryce and hitman Darius Kincaid – are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
RED 2
2013 · Dean Parisot
Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Lift
2024 · F. Gary Gray
An international heist crew, led by Cyrus Whitaker, race to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
In Bruges
2008 · Martin McDonagh
Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previous assignment. When the mission is revealed to Ke
In common: Comedy · Crime
Shoot 'Em Up
2007 · Michael Davis
A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Taxi
2004 · Tim Story
A mouthy and feisty taxicab driver has hot tips for a green and inept cop set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies committed by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Seven Psychopaths
2012 · Martin McDonagh
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
In common: Comedy · Crime
Shaft
2019 · Tim Story
JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The Wrecking Crew
2026 · Ángel Manuel Soto
Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father's mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Knives Out
2019 · Rian Johnson
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From
In common: Comedy · Crime
Ocean's Eight
2018 · Gary Ross
Debbie Ocean, a criminal mastermind, gathers a crew of female thieves to pull off the heist of the century at New York's annual Met Gala.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
True Romance
1993 · Tony Scott
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
In common: Action · Crime
Red Notice
2021 · Rawson Marshall Thurber
An Interpol-issued Red Notice is a global alert to hunt and capture the world's most wanted. But when a daring heist brings together the FBI's top profiler and two rival criminals, there's no telling
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Rush Hour
1998 · Brett Ratner
When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case.
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
2018 · Stefano Sollima
Agent Matt Graver teams up with operative Alejandro Gillick to prevent Mexican drug cartels from smuggling terrorists across the United States border.
In common: Action · Crime
Rush Hour 2
2001 · Brett Ratner
It's vacation time for Carter as he finds himself alongside Lee in Hong Kong wishing for more excitement. While Carter wants to party and meet the ladies, Lee is out to track down a Triad gang lord wh
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
The Gentlemen
2020 · Guy Ritchie
American expat Mickey Pearson has built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and
In common: Action · Comedy · Crime
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
2011 · Quentin Tarantino
A former assassin, known simply as The Bride, wakes from a coma four years after her jealous ex-lover Bill attempts to murder her on her wedding day. Fueled by an insatiable desire for revenge, she vo
In common: Action · Crime
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Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Michael Dante DiMartino
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
