WHAT’S IT ABOUT
Two friends navigate the dangerous world of organized crime, testing their loyalty and survival skills as they get deeper into the criminal underworld.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
When a film drops on a streaming platform with a title that sounds like a roll call gone wrong, you expect to be let down. But Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski, earns every single minute of your attention — and then some. Here is what you need to know going in. Mike, played by James Marsden, is a tired gangster who wants out of the criminal life. He has been secretly seeing Alice, played by Eiza González, who happens to be the wife of his partner, Nick, played by Vince Vaughn. On the same night Mike and Alice plan to disappear together, Nick shows up asking Mike for one last favor. That favor leads Mike to a door, and behind that door is another Nick. A second Vince Vaughn. Because, as it turns out, the Nick who came asking for help is actually a time traveler from six months in the future. He jumped back in time using a machine built by Symon, played by Ben Schwartz, to save Mike’s life, because in the future, Mike ends up dead. Layered on top of all of this is a furious mob boss named Sosa, played by Keith David, who believes Mike is the person who sent his son Jimmy Boy to prison. Sosa has hired a cannibal assassin called the Barron to handle the situation. Yes, a cannibal. Yes, it gets that wild. What Grabinski understands, and what many directors working in this space completely miss, is that a high-concept story only works if the people living inside it feel real. The time travel here is not explained in detail, and that is the right call. The movie does not need you to do math. It needs you laughing, wincing, and occasionally feeling something you did not see coming. The time machine exists to create problems, raise stakes, and put these people in rooms together where they have no choice but to figure things out. That is it. That is enough. Now, Vince Vaughn. Brother has been away from comedy long enough that seeing him return here feels like a reunion you did not know you needed. For years, Vaughn leaned hard into dark, brutal, dramatic roles — and he was genuinely good in that lane. But watching him play two versions of the same man, separated by six months and a whole lot of pain, reminds you that he is a rare talent. Future Nick is calm, measured, and almost gentle. Present Nick is reactive, short-tempered, and harder to like. Vaughn keeps both versions separate and clear without ever making it feel like a trick. You always know which Nick is in the room, and more importantly, you care about both of them. Marsden plays Mike with a kind of exhausted charm that works perfectly here. He is the straight man surrounded by chaos, but he is not boring. He runs with full-force physical ability through the entire production, from the fighting sequences to the humour, where he lands punches and moments with naturally timed delivery on both sides of the equation. But it is the rhythm defined by his and Vaughn’s chemistry that helps define the structure of this piece. There is a conversation in this film about which boyfriend was best for Rory on Gilmore Girls that should not matter to the plot at all, and yet, by the time it circles back around, you realize Grabinski has been using it to show you exactly who these people are. That is smart writing hiding inside ridiculous comedy. González holds the entire emotional center of this film together without making it look like an effort. Alice is sharp, quick, and the most strategically aware person in nearly every scene she enters. She does not exist simply to be fought over. She has her own perspective on the situation, and González makes sure you feel the weight of the choices Alice is carrying. Her chemistry with Marsden reads as genuine, and her scenes with Vaughn, both Vaughns, carry real tension that the movie earns. Keith David’s portrayal of Sosa exceeds expectations. Each of his lines is delivered with such authority that one can believe he would run a crime syndicate while also planning an after party, after after party, and after after after party for his son’s welcome home. Jimmy Tatro as Jimmy Boy is entertainingly dimwitted, believing himself to be more menacing than he really is; the contrast between father and son is another, more subtle source of humor in the film. The soundtrack deserves its own recognition. Grabinski uses music the way a good chef uses seasoning, not to cover things up, but to bring the flavor forward. There is a moment involving Oasis’s “Don’t Look Back in Anger” that genuinely lands with feeling, which is something you do not expect from a film where a cannibal assassin is also a major plot point. And the Blade club scene music makes an appearance that will have a certain generation of viewers sitting straight up in their seats. Where the film loses a small amount of footing is in a stretch through the middle where the momentum softens, and the energy drops below what it needs to be. There is also a late twist that feels like Grabinski second-guessed himself at the finish line. Neither issue ruins the experience, but together they keep Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice from reaching the same level as the films it is clearly drawing inspiration from, movies like The Nice Guys and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which found a near-perfect balance between action and comedy. But here is the truth: this film is a genuine crowd-pleaser that should be seen by far more people than a Hulu release will likely give it. Grabinski, who also shaped the tone of the animated Scott Pilgrim Takes Off series, demonstrates that he knows how to manage tone, juggle ideas, and still keep the audience connected to the characters doing all of this ridiculous living. He is a filmmaker worth following. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is funny, fast, occasionally touching, and built on a cast that is clearly having the time of their lives. Do not sleep on it.
OUR RATING – AN ALL-OVER-THE-PLACE 8