By George & Josh Bate
Two gangsters in love with the same woman is already an intriguing set-up for a movie. Now, throw a time machine into the mix (plus comedy titan Vince Vaughn, the perpetually underappreciated James Marsden, and the brilliant Eiza González) and you get a film that is wildly engaging, incredibly funny, and unexpectedly touching.
Written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski, the new Hulu movie Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice stars Vince Vaughn and James Marsden as Nick and Mike respectively, two old friends and members of a dangerous crime syndicate known as The Organization. Mike, who is having an affair with Nick’s wife Alice (Eiza González), wants to leave his years of dirty work behind when he is accused of being the snitch that imprisoned the son (Jimmy Tatro) of The Organization’s boss (Keith David). Helping Mike survive a threat-filled night is Nick, but not the Nick he knows – this is the Nick from the future, aptly referred to as Future Nick. Using a time machine created by Alice’s friend (Ben Schwartz), Future Nick has traveled to the past to save his friend and stop Present Nick from taking actions he will one day regret.
With an ill-fitting opening credits involving Ben Schwartz painstakingly singing and a rather disjointed set-up for the main characters and their relationships, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice begins on shaky footing until the time travel angle of the story becomes clear, at which point the film evolves into an immensely fun watch.
Grabinski arrives on a playful tone for his film, which is similar to Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver in integrating style with narrative groundedness. While Vaughn and Marsden certainly embrace a certain absurdity with their performances, the film never becomes too heavy-handed and, in turn, retains its thrills and stakes through an array of laugh-out-loud moments.
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice uses a playful tone to propel audiences into a story that blends Goodfellas and Loopers, while feeling entirely original. Unlike many time travel movies that get bogged down in convoluted exposition, Grabinski’s film keeps the mechanics of time travel simple and streamlined, thus allowing viewers to be more immersed in the fun dynamics between its four titular characters than messy plotting. Several key moments in the film, including one in particular that depicts what will happen if Present Nick dies or is injured, succinctly convey what one needs to know to comprehend the ins and outs of the time hopping at play.
With Future Nick journeying to the past to save his friend (à la Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice entertainingly unfolds in a single night. As is the case in films like Collateral or Ready or Not, the characters face a barrage of threats and increasingly crazy happenings as they attempt to survive the night from vicious gangsters (oh, and a cannibal hitman). Taking place in one night gives Grabinski’s film a sense of urgency that raises the stakes and allows things to go from unsettling to chaotic to batshit crazy very quickly. Thankfully, due to a strong handling of tone, Grabinski ensures that the ever-escalating turn of events never become so insane as to lose the audience and render the film too heightened.
For as well conceived put together as the screenplay is, the film simply wouldn’t work without a trio of strong performances to anchor its comedy and drama. Comedy legend Vince Vaughn takes on two roles here and, both through his performances and intelligent wardrobe design, excels in distinguishing the characters from one another. His Present Day Nick is more bitter and angry, as he has just learned of his wife’s affair with his friend and colleague. But Future Nick approaches the situation with newfound maturity and wisdom, having seen the emotional toll Mike’s death had on him. In playing both versions of Nick, Vaughn embraces his trademark style of humor and line delivery, which, while certainly not novel after 30 years of headlining comedies, admittedly shows its longevity as the actor is responsible for a host of solid laughs in the film.
James Marsden, meanwhile, nails a role that requires him to be a warm romantic interest and a capable badass. The X-Men actor has always had great comedic timing and delivery, and is able to flex these muscles throughout a film that requires him to be lovable, capable, and kinda dopey in equal measure. Indicative of the broader industry’s woeful underuse of Marsden, however, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice doesn’t make the most of Marsden and somehow finds a way to push him to the backseat of a film in which he plays a title character.
Playing the woman standing in the middle of the two friends and hitmen is Eiza González. The role tasked to the Baby Driver and Godzilla vs. Kong actress could easily have been one-dimensional, but González brings a delightful charm and complexity to Alice. She shares effortless chemistry with Marsden, while her tension with Vaughn feels authentic but never mean-spirited.
As the film transitions into its final act, all three actors continue to exude humor and effectively depict the stakes but also unexpectedly usher a real tenderness into the story. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice isn’t simply about two men fighting over one woman – it’s about two old friends in love with the same woman, who value their friendship despite the pain they have caused one another. As a love story, the film proves effective and yet it also excels as a touching tale of friendship, one that shows that even the most salient of conflicts can’t eradicate genuine care. It may not be a palpable tear-jerker as it comes to an end, although Grabinski and his cast definitely strike an emotional chord with the evolving dynamics of four main characters.
For as funny and heartfelt as Vaughn, Marsden, and González are, the film’s biggest laughs are saved for Jimmy Tatro (Scream 7, Theater Camp). Tatro plays Jimmy Boy, the son of Keith David’s big crime boss, and features heavily in the film as it continually cuts back to The Party, The After Party, The After Party, and The After After Party celebrating his release from prison. Although Grabinski populates his film with too many cut aways to Jimmy Boy and The Organization, Tatro is so funny and sells his character’s stupidity so effectively that the detours away from Vaughn, Marsden, and González entertain, even if they ultimately aren’t that necessary to the overarching narrative.
In addition to running about 10-15 minutes too long, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice makes a rare misstep in its use of licensed music. This issue evidences itself in the first scene, which depicts Ben Schwartz singing a fairly well-known song in a manner that is intended to, but blatantly fails, evoke laughs. From there, the movie frequently includes licensed music to heighten the humor of a particular scene, but, at best, the songs feel ill-fitting and, at worst, are distracting and off-putting.
VERDICT: 7/10
Streaming March 27 on Hulu, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice teams James Marsden and Eiza González with two Vince Vaughns for a wildly fun, consistently engaging, and unexpectedly tender movie. Writer/director BenDavid Grabinski draws inspiration from Rian Johnson’s Looper and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas to craft a truly original movie that seamlessly blends science-fiction, comedy, and romance. Employing a playful, yet never too heightened tone, the film excels in its streamlined approach to time-travel and host of solid laughs, in particular from scene-stealer Jimmy Tatro. Vince Vaughn brings his trademark style of humor and line delivery to the movie, which, while not particularly novel after 30 years in comedy, still has undoubted longevity. James Marsden, meanwhile, nails a role that requires him to be a warm, somewhat dopey romantic interest and capable bad ass, although he is disappointingly underused in a movie in which he is one of the title characters. Eiza González plays the woman in the middle of Vaughn and Marsden with charm, grace, and complexity. Together, the three actors are responsible for numerous laugh-out-loud moments but, by the end of the film, also an unexpected tenderness as the film strikes an emotional chord through its exploration of friendships and marriage. A disjointed beginning, misuse of licensed music, and the need for 10-15 minutes of trimming ultimately do little to detract from the pure entertainment value of Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, a movie that delivers the kind of light-hearted fun we all need right now.