The film begins in Los Angeles in 1978. A boy is sitting by the pool admiring a porn magazine with Misty on the cover. A car comes out of nowhere, crashing into the boy’s home. The boy is beyond terrified. He is even more mortified when the driver who is dying is the porn star Misty from the magazine. Holland March is a private investigator with a questionable moral code. He is the father of Holly. A smart and intelligent young woman. He has been contracted to find Misty who has been reported dead. Holland agrees to take the case for the money initially. Holland meets Jackson when he begins investigating Amelia. Jackson is a muscle, paid to beat up Holland by Amelia, to keep him away from her. They both realize they are after the same thing, so they team up and work together to find Amelia.
Holland and Jackson meet up with Chet who gives them further insight into Amelia’s life. They are taken to a house that burned down with Amelia’s boyfriend inside. They find out that Amelia and Misty were part of a film that was supposed to expose something controversial. Jackson and Holland crash a party to find the person who financed the film. Holly follows them to the party, hiding in the trunk. Holland gets very drunk at the party and stumbles upon a dead person who turns out to be the film’s financier. As Holly is looking around the party, she notices Amelia about to be killed. She saves her and gives her time to flee in a car. The killer follows her but suffers a fatal accident. Jackson finds out that there is a hitman who has been contracted to kill them all.
Holland and Jackson find out where the film is going to be shown. They drive to the airport to meet Amelia. Amelia is meeting with film executives for their film. The hitman is already on the scene. They somehow manage to extract Amelia from the location pronto. At Holland’s home, Amelia confesses that her mother is involved in a cover-up involving defective emission equipment for vehicles. They were going to use the film to expose it to the world. Amelia’s mother hatches a plan to get his daughter. He lures Holland and Jackson into a trap that leaves Amelia defenseless. The hitman arrives at Holland’s home where Amelia is hiding. A massive shootout ensues which allows the hitman to get his shot at Amelia. Amelia is murdered by the side of the road.
Holland and Jackson try to find justice for Amelia and the others, but they lack evidence. They find out that all along Chet was the one who was going to show the film at a car show event. They make their way there and face a few minor setbacks but ensure that the film is played. The hitman tries to kill them again but Jackson stops him in time. Amelia’s mother is arrested together with the executives responsible for the defects. Holland and Jackson end up creating a friendship. They decide to be in business together, running a private investigating firm called ‘The Nice Guys’.
