Vince Vaughn’s Raunchy, New R-Rated Sci-Fi Comedy Is Genre Blending Perfection

By Robert Scucci
| Updated 1 second ago

My mileage with Vince Vaughn varies from film to film, and it’s because for a while he was having what I’d call an identity crisis. In the early aughts, he pretty much played the same manic, cynical slacker in movies like Old School (2003) and Dodgeball (2004). He’s never been a one-trick pony, either, and his dramatic roles like 2017’s Brawl in Cell Block 99 are beyond solid. I actually really enjoyed his portrayal of Norman Bates in the 1998 Psycho remake, though I know I’m in the minority there. Along the way, he tried the neo-noir route with his role in True Detective Season 2 (2015), which felt like he was cast in the wrong role because it leaned too serious, but still showcased his signature snark.

When I stumbled across his latest effort on Hulu, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, I honestly didn’t know what version of Vince Vaughn I was going to get, and it turns out it’s both. Vince Vaughn is serious as a heart attack, but more manic than ever, and always willing to dish out a cynical one-liner that’s so on brand you can’t help but love it. It’s a time travel-based sci-fi action comedy, which is new territory for him, and his on-screen chemistry with James Marsden and Eiza Gonzalez makes for a solid watch as a group of criminals try to play it straight, but can’t help acknowledging the ridiculous situation they’re in.

Double Trouble 

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice starts out with just one Nick (Vince Vaughn), who’s seen talking shop with his longtime partner in crime, Quick Draw Mike (James Marsden). They’re attending a party for Jimmy Boy (Jimmy Tatro), thrown by his adoptive father, Sosa (Keith David). Sosa is celebrating Jimmy Boy’s release from prison after serving a six-year sentence, but also makes it very clear he knows a rat is among his crew, and that the rat will soon be executed.

Mike, who wants to settle down and leave the criminal life behind, is urged by Nick to do one last job that’s of significant importance to him, which involves knocking out an unsuspecting victim with chloroform. To Mike’s horror and confusion, the man he’s tasked with knocking out appears to be Nick’s identical twin. As it turns out, Mike is actually helping a version of Nick from six months in the future, and the present-day Nick may have told Sosa that Mike was the rat, and needs to be prevented from doing so.

Sound confusing? Strap in, because it gets even crazier. Future Nick explains to Mike that while collecting a debt from a scientist named Symon (Ben Schwartz), he discovered a time machine and entered it. Upon exiting, he accidentally killed the scientist and set fire to the lab, meaning there’s no reset. What Nick makes known, however, is that a cannibal assassin known only as The Barron (Dolph Lundgren) has it out for Mike. He also admits he regrets lying to Sosa about Mike, and that it came from anger after learning about his affair with Alice, his wife.

Unfortunately for future Nick, who wants to make everything right, he can’t trust past Nick, who’s still salty about the affair and furious about being chloroformed, abducted, and shot at. Everybody’s difference of opinion over which boyfriend was best for Rory in Gilmore Girls, however, is what really shows their true colors before they decide they need to find the real rat who put Jimmy Boy behind bars before The Barron sets his sights on the wrong target.

A Total Blast From Start To Finish

The best part about Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is how unserious it is. The time travel rules are simple enough and take a backseat to the present-day adventure. Vince Vaughn coming to blows with Vince Vaughn works because the future version is older and wiser, while the other version, not knowing what his future self knows, still operates on impulse and short-sightedness. Both Nicks wear different outfits, giving viewers a clean visual shorthand to track which timeline they’re from, and then the third act veers into straight-up John Wick territory, just with way more witty banter.

Most importantly, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice hits the sweet spot for Vince Vaughn. Some moments see him high-strung and serious, but no matter which version of Nick he’s playing, he’s as sarcastic and cynical as ever. Even when he’s trying to do right by his partner by traveling back in time to save his life, he’s still salty about the affair, and he makes it known whenever the opportunity presents itself. What’s more, whenever Nick tries to double-cross the other Nick, it never goes as planned, making things exponentially worse for everybody involved.

Hulu may not be leading the charge on original content like Netflix, but if they keep putting out movies like Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice with any kind of consistency, they could start closing that gap. It’s original, explosive, and has just the right amount of snark to carry you through its runtime. It doesn’t matter if you prefer Vince Vaughn’s sillier roles or his more serious ones, because he pulls off both here, and it’s a blast to watch.

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