The titular character in Edward Burns' Nice Guy Johnny is one of the most relatable characters to myself I have ever seen on screen, reminding me eerily of how the character of Dante Hicks communicated something to me when I was seven or eight-years-old, watching Clerks for the first time. The character is "nice to a fault," meaning his niceness comes through even when it shouldn't and he should be taking a stand rather than backing down. He's caught between a rock and a hard place in trying to follow his dreams or conform and make others happy before himself. He is constantly worried about stepping out of line with everybody and struggles to assure everyone is happy and content. And he also has a quirky passion that may not pay well, but dammit, it makes him happy and satisfied with his life.
"Nice Guy" Johnny Rizzo is played by Matt Bush, a real find of a young actor, who is getting married in a few days and is about to scrap his low-paying but wholly satisfying gig as a late night sportscasting gig on the radio for a safe job at a cardboard box factory. The job is provided by his fiancée Claire's (Anna Wood) father, who has helped the young couple out by paying for the heavy rent and car payments being that Johnny and Claire's combined income cannot afford their needs and wants. Twenty-five and about to make the biggest commitment of his adult life, he is taken on a weekend in the Hamptons by his sleazy uncle Terry (writer/producer/director Edward Burns) to loosen up and enjoy one last weekend of freedom before he walks down the aisle.
Although Terry doesn't hang with Johnny as much as he should, he can read his nephew like a book and recognize that this marriage thing isn't in his best interest as much as it is convenient and will likely prove to be a safe bet in the long-run. On this little vacation, Johnny meets Brooke (Kerry Bishé), a sweet and attractive blonde tennis coach, who Terry attempts to hook up with his nephew while he can heartlessly screw another married woman. Johnny is apprehensive to the idea of cheating on Claire with a total stranger, unlike his uncle, but finds quiet solace in talking to Brooke about his engagement, his aspirations, and his feelings, and she enjoys his company. The two hit it off in the quiet way people do in real life rather than in movies.
Despite his uncle, and bachelor-party-convention, telling him to sleep with Brooke in a "no regrets" manner, Johnny refuses. Not only is he far too kind and nice, but he doesn't want to jeopardize anything between his fiancée. Without diving into specifics, the night turns out to be a wild and memorable one not in the sense you're thinking, but in a far more entertaining way than the barrage of bachelor party films have turned out.
Nice Guy Johnny is a fantastic film if you're just coming out of high school, entering college, graduating college, or a few years out of college, caught between passion and profession, and being burdened by numerous voices from others who are telling you to sacrifice your personal happiness for immediate financial gratification. Perhaps if I didn't find myself in that position, having just graduated high school, I may've not liked Nice Guy Johnny has much as I did. However, being down that road, the film articulates the pressure beautifully, with several great dialog scenes between two parties about the issue, especially one between Johnny and Terry where Terry tells Johnny - in a wonderfully nuanced and unconventional way - that making others happy before yourself isn't what is going to make you happy and fulfilled in a long-term sense. "You need to stop worrying about what everybody else wants and start worrying about what Johnny wants," he tells him.
The film also recognizes the idea of "nice guys finish last" in an honest and believable way, without succumbing to cheap pessimism or pity. It shows how even though we claim to like our close friends and people around us to be nice, we take advantage of their kindness, and assume they're equipped with no other feeling but overflowing niceness and love. Nice Guy Johnny, in addition, illustrates believable interactions between Johnny and Brooke that take on a life of their own in a sense that they're not playing to the commonality of how first conversations between strangers of the opposite sex play out, but show the genuine awkwardness and banter that entails.
On a final note, without trying to ruin anything in the film, if you expected any bawdiness or sex scenes in Nice Guy Johnny while watching it, you have entirely missed the idea of the film and its character that was boldly indicated in the title. Having said that, this is one of the strongest romantic comedies I've seen of the new decade, emotionally honest, realistically portrayed, wonderfully acted, especially by Bush and Bishé, who shine in every scene they're in, and written pragmatically by its writer/producer/director, who understands this life as if he had lived it.
Starring: Matt Bush, Kerry Bishé, Edward Burns, and Anna Wood. Directed by: Edward Burns.
