Nice Girls, directed by Noémie Saglio, aims to position itself within the gender-swapped buddy-cop genre, a cinematic playground with various degrees of success (think The Heat or Ocean’s 8, but comparisons may be unjust).
The film stars Alice Taglioni as the unkempt, chain-smoking Leo—a cop juggling grief, chaos, and complicated personal life—and Stéfi Celma as Mélanie, her disciplined yet earnest German partner. Together, they navigate a complicated murder investigation, tangential eco-politics, and an endless supply of errors that range from slapstick to sarcastic.
Nice Girls, with its Riviera backdrop, is more than its bright exteriors and postcard-perfect beaches; it is also a site of cultural disputes, gender relations, and political commentary—or, at least, it attempts to be. Saglio’s directing depends heavily on absurdity, but whether the film succeeds in being subversive or simply dumb is up for dispute—a debate that this review will gladly engage in.
Now available on Netflix, Nice Girls enters a crowded scene of action comedies, a genre where national specificity frequently takes a second to universal themes. However, being a French production, it begs an examination of how humor and storytelling transcend (or do not) across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Is the film’s comedy a purposeful jab at political correctness, or simply a victim of it?
Are the heroines’ misfortunes representative of feminist progress, or do they just repurpose the genre’s outdated clichés? These are the questions that Nice Girls raises—sometimes unintentionally—and they deserve an exploration that goes beyond the surface level.
Stay tuned as we discuss thematic undercurrents (or lack thereof), the hazy line between parody and sincerity, and the cultural consequences of a film that appears to revel in its own messiness.
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Messy Mavericks and Methodical Misfits: The Duality of Leo and Mélanie
Leo (played with slouchy charm by Alice Taglioni) is the classic anti-heroine of the Mediterranean—half slob, part smart, and completely crazy. Everything about her appearance screams rebellion against traditional cop archetypes: chain-smoking, perpetually unkempt, and wearing a wardrobe that could be generously described as “post-apocalyptic boho.” Even her car—a wheezing relic that appears to predate the French Revolution—is less a mode of transportation and more a metaphor for her disintegrating personal life.
But underneath the ash-streaked hair and jorts is a character struggling with grief and identity. Her brother’s death serves as the plot’s emotional core, but Saglio uses it more as a springboard for dark humor. Leo’s progress in Nice Girls is so subtle that it is almost invisible—she remains a creature of instinct, governed more by gut reactions than any transformative arc. Nonetheless, her reluctance to comply, to “clean up” in every sense, represents a wider feminist statement: that women, too, can be unabashedly messy protagonists, even if the mess occasionally overshadows the message.
In sharp contrast, Mélanie (Stefi Celma) is a “supercop” whose physical strength and unwavering temperament make her the yin to Leo’s yang. Her sophisticated appearance and fluency in French (explained by a past involving a French mother, but the script does not dwell on it) position her as an outsider who must continuously establish her worth.
However, Mélanie’s character is not without its difficulties. Her motivations for entering the probe suggest that Profound personal stakes, especially since she was betrothed to Leo’s late brother. This emotional tie provides unexpected depth to the typical “tough cop” stereotype.
Mélanie’s growth is more obvious than Leo’s, as the tough professional eventually displays a softer, more vulnerable side. However, the film’s emphasis on using slapstick to highlight her expertise (headbutts to the groin abound) undermines some of her gravitas. Is she a representation of modern professionalism colliding with a chaotic world, or is she another victim of the film’s tonal inconsistencies? Unfortunately, the answer is both.
The relationship between Leo and Mélanie serves as the film’s emotional and humorous backbone—or at least it attempts to. Their dynamic is a study of opposites, with Leo’s frantic improvisation colliding with Mélanie’s systematic style. However, the film’s script frequently reduces their interactions to a series of mismatched analogies and forced banter (the “turtle head” vs. “fox in the henhouse” discussion is one example).
As the story progresses, their relationship evolves from adversarial to reluctantly cooperative, relying heavily on the well-worn “enemies-to-allies” trope. Their eventual togetherness feels inevitable, but it lacks the organic building required to make it truly fulfilling. Instead, the film compensates with physical comedy and action sequences, which, although occasionally entertaining, feel like a diversion from the emotional potential of their relationship.
Still, there’s something subversive about seeing two women carry the weight of a genre normally dominated by men. Even when the film stumbles (as it frequently does), Leo and Mélanie’s relationship hints at a new take on the buddy cop dynamic: one in which gender is the premise rather than the humor; whether this reimagining succeeds or fails is best left to the viewer.
Plot Unraveled: The Good, the Bad, and the Convoluted
At its foundation, Nice Girls employs the buddy-cop premise with a particular French twist. The plot revolves around Leo, a disheveled police officer mourning the inexplicable murder of her brother Ludo, and Mélanie, a polished German supercop with a personal connection to the case.
As the two investigate Ludo’s murder, they uncover a complex scheme that connects eco-politics, crooked cops, inept villains, and a climatic oil summit in Nice. Along the way, sexual tension (with the hacker Bat, who serves as an off-brand “man in the chair”) and plenty of slapstick chaos.
The narrative shifts between an action comedy and a murder mystery, but rather than expertly combining genres, it frequently feels like two movies were stitched together. The tone shifts abruptly from somber grief to nut-shot humor, leaving viewers torn between laughing, cringing, and shrugging.
The film’s merits are its moments of humor and absurdity, which occasionally go into the realm of smart satire. For example, the oil summit backdrop—a thinly veiled criticism of performative environmentalism—provides a brief peek of social critique. (The French version of Greta Thunberg is mentioned, but she remains a ghostly figure in the background, much like the film’s underlying themes.)
However, the plot’s Achilles heel is its excessive complexity. Nice Girls, described as “James Bond syndrome for action-comedies,” recklessly loads on antagonists, subplots, and twists. By the time the conspiracy is completely revealed, it’s difficult to remember who’s betraying whom—or why any of it counts. The complexity is intended, possibly as an homage to the genre’s innate absurdity, but rather than feeling clever, it comes across as tiresome.
This overloaded narrative also reduces the emotional impact. Ludo’s death, a plot hook that should anchor the story, is lost amid the chaos. What could have been a moving exploration of grief and sibling bonds has been reduced to a repeated voicemail joke. (It’s a funny one, but still.)
The plot’s richness creates a strange viewing experience: overwhelming and underwhelming. On the one hand, the dizzying diversity of developments propels the film forward, leaving little room for boredom. Conversely, the lack of narrative emphasis makes investing in the characters or their situation difficult.
Viewers are left with a sense of discord. The stakes are high—murder, corruption, and a city in danger—but the humorous tone undermines real tension. It’s as if the film is winking at the audience, saying, “Don’t take this too seriously,” while directing them to follow a plot that requires serious attention. The result is narrative fatigue, in which the effort of keeping up outweighs the reward.
Nonetheless, there is a certain charm to the chaos. Like the city of Nice, the plot is lovely yet congested, enticing but impossible to navigate without getting lost. Maybe that’s the point—or maybe it’s just lousy storytelling dressed up as whimsical. Either way, there’s a lot to unpack.
Genre Juggling and Tonal Whiplash: The Uneasy Dance of Action and Comedy
The tone of Nice Girls is a contradiction—part comedy, part gritty action, and part emotional drama—but none of these aspects ever really combine. It’s a film that veers wildly between genres, like a car pursuit with a malfunctioning GPS, leaving viewers unsure whether to laugh, gasp, or roll their eyes.
One moment, we’re in the grip of Leo’s grief, punctuated by a devastating replay of her brother’s vulgar voicemail; the next, we’re pushed into a nut-shot-heavy combat that feels more Three Stooges than Lethal Weapon. This tonal inconsistency may be intentional (a postmodern homage to genre deconstruction, perhaps), but whether it succeeds in creating mystery or causes aggravation is another question.
Balancing action and comedy is difficult, and Nice Girls approaches it with the finesse of a sledgehammer. While expertly choreographed, its action moments are sometimes marred by slapstick interruptions—think headbutts to the groin and overly dramatic pratfalls. A final automobile pursuit, for example, is spoiled by an unnecessarily glaring windshield reflection, which serves as an accidental metaphor for the film’s attempt to preserve clarity in the chaos.
The comedy suffers from a similar identity dilemma. Some jokes land with deft accuracy (especially the running comedy about Leo’s use of covert terminology). In contrast, others feel hopelessly out of touch—particularly the film’s weak barbs at political correctness, which fluctuate between satire and self-parody without fully committing to either. It’s as if the film wants to criticize current sensibilities but doesn’t know whether to embrace or parody them.
The result is a tonal tightrope act in which neither the action nor the comedy feels fulfilling. For every genuine moment of humor or tension, there is another that feels contrived or out of place, leaving the viewer in a constant state of tonal confusion. Nonetheless, the film’s chaos has an unmistakable energy—a kind of fierce charm that, despite its defects, makes it tough to reject. Whether such intensity translates into enjoyment is completely up to the viewer’s capacity for cinematic whiplash.
The Subverted Cop Trope: Themes and Social Commentary in Nice Girls
At its core, Nice Girls plays with the norms of the buddy-cop genre, offering a female-led spin that appears to contradict the testosterone-fueled legacy of its predecessors. Thematically, it explores ideas of gender relations, grief, and political correctness.
Still, its execution is more of a disorganized shrug than a precise critique. The film’s recurring criticism of political correctness is especially noteworthy (and divisive)—a running gag alternating between parody and pandering. The movie postures itself as self-aware but ultimately toothless by ridiculing language over-policing while also relishing in slapstick follies and infantile humor.
In the tumultuous narrative, other themes, like grief and sisterhood, are battled to find breath. For example, Leo’s sorrow for her brother is a plot device and a source of dark comedy. Still, the film’s tendency to linger on serious subjects sometimes undermines its emotional weight. Mélanie’s cultural outsider status (as a German cop in France) and personally (as Ludo’s fiancée) hints at deeper tensions, but these threads are tantalizingly underdeveloped.
The film’s societal commentary is, at best, inconsistent. On the one hand, its female leads provide a welcome break from the genre’s traditionally male-dominated background. The movie, on the other hand, limits its potential for genuine originality by insisting on gender-swapped clichés (Leo as the charming slob, Mélanie as the straight-laced professional). Meanwhile, the political correctness humor feels like a missed opportunity—it’s neither sharp enough to provoke discussion nor subtle enough to fit seamlessly into the narrative.
One of the film’s few moments of thematic clarity comes during its tumultuous conclusion at the eco-summit when the backdrop of performative activism mirrors its ambivalence toward serious critique. It’s as if the movie wants to express something but isn’t sure what to say—or if it’s even worth saying.
The Riviera as a Stage: Nice, France, as a Character
Nice, with its sun-drenched beaches and postcard-perfect panoramas, does more than just serve as a backdrop for Nice Girls; it also attempts (and occasionally succeeds) to function as a character in its own right. The film mainly relies on the city’s scenic charm, combining high-stakes action sequences with the languid elegance of the French Riviera.
At moments, the setting conveys a sense of irony: a place associated with relaxation and luxury becomes the site of chaotic brawls, slapstick interactions, and a complicated murder investigation. The eco-summit subplot, which revolves around a protest against fossil fuels, emphasizes the city’s symbolic duality—a playground for global elites grappling with superficial gestures toward progressivism.
However, despite its cinematic potential, Nice feels underdeveloped. The setting occasionally enhances the film, offering a dramatic contrast between the protagonists’ chaotic lives and the shiny façade of the city (possibly a metaphor for modern performative perfection). But more frequently, it appears like window dressing—pretty but hollow. Nice is reduced to establishing shots and chase-friendly streets since the film barely connects meaningfully with the city’s culture, history, or contrasts.
There’s also a strange tension between the film’s slapstick absurdity and the city’s natural refinement. Rather than merging the two, the jarring contrast frequently detracts from the whole experience, leaving the viewer wondering if the Riviera deserved a better narrative to inhabit.
Chaos, Charm, and Missed Opportunities: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Recommendations
At its heart, Nice Girls is a film that thrives on contrasts. Noémie Saglio’s gender-swapped buddy-cop comedy tries to balance slapstick absurdity and emotional depth, but the results are mixed at best. Its protagonists, Leo (a ragged anti-heroine wallowing in grief and cigarette smoke) and Mélanie (a polished but fragile “supercop”), anchor the film with their opposing dynamic. However, their chemistry feels artificial rather than organic, hampered by a script that promotes infantile gags above significant character development.
The plot, which is equal parts complicated murder mystery and eco-political satire, wobbles under the weight of its ambition. While the bright panoramas of Nice, France, create a magnificent visual canvas, the setting is mostly ornamental. It does not combine with the narrative in any significant sense. The film’s tonal fluctuations (from grief to groin kicks, often within the same scene) complicate its identity, leaving viewers confused about what Nice Girls wants to be.
Despite its drawbacks, Nice Girls has its moments. The action scenes are well-choreographed, despite being infrequently broken by awkward comedy, and the film’s rare gestures to feminist subversion—two women occupying a typically male narrative space—are welcome, albeit underdeveloped. The movie, however, is less a unified work of art than a chaotic patchwork of ideas, some of which work and others do not.
However, there is an obvious charm to the chaos. It’s the kind of film that feels self-aware of its absurdity, even if it’s unsure how to deal with it.
Nice Girls is best suited for viewers who enjoy light, disposable entertainment and don’t mind a lack of narrative depth. Fans of slapstick comedy and unusual action will undoubtedly find plenty to keep them entertained. However, anyone seeking a sharp feminist critique or a carefully constructed plot may be disappointed. Watch it for the Riviera sun and the occasional laugh, but don’t expect to remember much after the credits roll.
The Review
Nice Girls
Nice Girls is a disjointed mix of slapstick comedy, action, and shaky social critique attempts that never quite find its footing. While the Riviera setting and occasional moments of absurd humor provide transitory charm, the complex plot, uneven tone, and underdeveloped themes make for a boring experience. It's a film that attempts to do too much—feminist subversion, political satire, and buddy-cop antics—but consistently fails to deliver. For fans of sloppy action comedies, this is a respectable DVD, but it's not particularly memorable.
PROS
- Gorgeous Riviera setting with stunning visuals.
- Refreshing female-led take on the buddy-cop genre.
- Moments of absurd humor and competent action sequences.
CONS
- Convoluted plot filled with too many subplots and villains.
- Inconsistent tone veering between slapstick and emotional drama.
- Political correctness humor feels clumsy and outdated.
- Weak character development and forced chemistry between leads.
- The setting is underutilized beyond surface aesthetics.
