SXSW 2026 Review:
"Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice"
Streaming Premiere Date: March 23, 2026 Rating: R Running Time: 107 minutes One of the best/worst things about watching a film from a streaming service at SXSW—or any other film festival, for that matter—is knowing how well it plays in front of an audience. Sometimes you walk out of the theater thinking to yourself, That film deserves to be seen on the big screen by as many people as possible. It happened in 2024 with the SXSW selections The Idea of You and its Roadhouse remake from Prime Video, and then at SXSW 2025 with Hulu’s O’Dessa and Summer of 69. This year, two action comedies stood out from the other SXSW streaming fare: Prime Video’s gloriously bloody Pretty Lethal and Hulu’s time-travel themed Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Unfortunately, both films—blessed with simple premises—fall into the category of R-rated action comedies that audiences prefer to watch at home COVID-19. Hence their streaming debuts. A shame, because both films are genuine crowd-pleasers that demand nothing more from an audience than under two hours of their time. If the teen-oriented Pretty Lethal finds ballerinas battling against Eastern European gangsters, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice pits mobster against mobster, with Vince Vaughn’s loan shark taking on … himself. Written and directed by Happily’s BenDavid Grabinski, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice finds Vaughn’s Nick tasked with killing his associate Quick Draw Mike (James Marsden). Their boss Sosa (Keith David) believes Mike is the police informant who ratted on his son Jimmy Boy (Jimmy Tatro). Complicating matters: Mike is sleeping with Nick’ (s wife Alice (Eiza González). But Mike finds an unlikely ally in the future version of Nick, who has somehow traveled back six months in time to prevent his present self from making the mistake of killing Mike. Together, Mike, Alice, and the future Nick must identify the real rat or take down Sosa before he can take them out. Oh, and a cannibal assassin is also on Mike’s trail. Yes, a cannibal assassin, nicknamed “The Barron,” played by … well, don’t want to ruin that cameo. Yes, there is a time machine in Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, but Grabinski does not try to overcomplicated matters with time-travel shenanigans. (The inventor of the time machine, Marsden’s Sonic the Hedgehog co-star Ben Schwartz, is killed off in the opening scene.) So the proceedings unfold over the course of the single night that required future Nick endeavors to prevent present Nick from putting a bullet in Mike’s head. Grabinski structures the film around various afterparties to celebrate Jimmy Boy’s release from prison. The first half of Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice mostly focuses on the setup and long, amusing conversations between Nick, future Nick, present Nick, and Alice. If anything, Grabinski is too quick to put the two Nicks on the same side. Future Nick is riddled with guilt for killing Mike, and it takes almost no time at all for the two Nicks to hash out their differences and to join forces to protect Mike. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice would have benefitted from even a modicum of conflict between the two Nicks. But I guess when you are confronted by your future self, you listen to what your future self has to say. (Not that present Nick, Mike, or Alice seem too perturbed by the arrival of future Nick. But accepting a time traveler at face value “after the initial confusion” wears off, per one of Nick’s acquaintances, is the price to pay to move things along at a swift pace.) This does result in some profound exchanges between the two Nicks about guilt and regret—the film is driven by the need to recognize, learn from and, when possible, correct past personal and professional mistakes. (Future Nick also expresses regret about how he treated Alice during their marriage, and he is partly motivated by setting her up for a happier life after they go their separate ways.) Of course, it is not easy to un-kill a person. So when “The Barron” makes his grand entrance about an hour into the film, Grabinski kicks the action into high gear, with his quartet forced into punch ups, gunfights, and car chases until the final confrontation with Sosa. The action sequences are mostly crisp, clean, and economical, but on occasion Grabinski makes the mistake of employing hazily rendered slo-mo that hurts the eyes. To counterbalance the bloody violence, Grabinski offers a sharp-witted script that includes a humorous off-topic conversation about a beloved TV series from the 2000s and several running jokes (too bad about “Jackie Napalm”). He also uses some of his soundtrack selections to terrific droll and/or dramatic effect, especially Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and Billy Joel’s “Why Should I Worry” from Disney’s Oliver & Company of all films. What makes Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice truly work is the comic dynamic that exists between Vaughn, Marsden, and González. Vaughn engages in witty banter with both himself and Marsden, while his exchanges with González alternate between the antagonistic and the contrite, depending on which Nick is speaking. Vaughn certainly makes his Nicks a study in contrasts, even if they are one and the same: his present Nick is gruff, abrasive, and defensive, his future Nick is calm, collected, and unafraid to say or show his remorse. If anything, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice reminds us at how good Vaughn is anchoring an R-rated comedy. Also, the sparks that fly between the obviously anxious Marsden and the tenacious González ensure that future Nick’s endeavors to save Mike is worth his time and effort. Keith David also makes the most of his meaty supporting role, alternating between the ruthlessness required of a mob boss and the love a father possesses for his (adopted) son. Grabinski brings Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice to a heartful close, but he also leaves the door for a sequel, one that could potentially find all roles reversed. Get past the groan-inducing reveal at the end of the film and a potential reunion between Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice could offer a few pleasant and likely bloody surprises. Posted: March 23, 2026. Web sites: https://www.hulu.com/ https://schedule.sxsw.com/films/2241747 |
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