Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice

This consistently funny, sci-fi-tinged, R-rated action comedy was released on Disney+ with little fanfare – which is a shame, because it’s great fun, very inventive, and features a charismatic cast who are a joy to spend time with.

Premise:  On the night that ‘Jimmy Boy’ (Jimmy Tatro), the son of a powerful crime boss, celebrates his release from prison, ‘Quick Draw Mike’ (James Marsden) decides that he wants to leave the criminal organisation, having fallen in love with Alice (Eiza González), the wife of Mike’s fellow criminal, Nick (Vince Vaughn).  Matters are complicated even further by the arrival of another Nick (also Vince Vaughn), who claims to be from 6-months into the future...

Review:

I almost don’t want to say too much about the plot to Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, because it’s definitely one of those films where it’s fun seeing how things escalate unexpectedly as the story progresses.  The movie has fun playing with both the traditional elements of a crime story (such as the hunt for a rat in the organisation) and a relationship drama (Mike having fallen for Nick’s wife Alice, after their marriage hits the rocks), before also throwing in the sci-fi curveball of having Future Nick arrive with an agenda of his own.  I certainly don’t think I’ve seen another movie quite like this one, and its inventiveness is a joy to behold (which is another reason why it’s a shame this film was “dumped” on streaming for little promotion, just like last year’s excellent (and equally overlooked) Eenie Meanie).

Although it has some dramatic moments, and it certainly has plenty of very well-choreographed action sequences, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is first and foremost a comedy, and its tone is established right from the opening title sequence, which sees Ben Schwartz’s scientist Symon unashamedly singing to himself as he works on his time machine invention.  From the get-go, the film doesn’t let up with a surprisingly high gag rate, so that barely a scene goes by without at least one genuine laugh.

“…the film’s secret weapon is its supporting cast…”

Much of that sense of fun is due to the exceptional cast that writer/director BenDavid Grabinski has assembled: Vince Vaughn appears to be having a great time with his dual roles as Present Nick and Future Nick, and I don’t think I’ve seen James Marsden have this much fin since Enchanted.  The ever-reliable Eiza González is left with playing the relatively straight role to the two funny-men, although she still gets plenty of opportunities to flex her comedic muscles as the story progresses (although she’s is very much second fiddle to the Mike & Nick & Nick part of the title).

But the film’s secret weapon is arguably the strength of depth it has in all the supporting roles, no matter how minor.  Keith David and Jimmy Tatro are both tremendous fun as the crime boss Sosa and his son ‘Jimmy Boy’ (the conversation about the circumstances of Jimmy’s adoption was a particular highlight), but the whole criminal organisation is populated by great comedic characters, like Arturo Castro’s ‘Dumbass Tony’, Lewis Tan’s ‘Roid Rage Ryan’, and Emily Hampshire’s crooked cop, Sam.  There are also some brilliant cameos, which I won’t spoil here.

“…ensures audiences care about what happens to these characters…”

The film strikes a careful balance between not taking itself too seriously, but also never becoming too silly or a parody of itself – importantly, the main cast is able to add just enough emotional weight to ensure that audiences care about what happens to these characters, even amidst all of the outlandish comedy, over-the-top violence, and chronologically paradoxical events.

This is the most fun Vince Vaughn has been since 2020’s Freaky, and it’s hard to imagine anyone not having a great time with this R-rated action comedy – which could be labelled as the first “buddy-buddy-buddy movie”!