One of the most entertaining movies I saw at the SXSW festival this year, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, made its debut on Hulu last Friday. In the film, James Marsden plays a hitman named Quick Draw Mike, who’s falsely accused of being a rat by his best friend, Nick (Vince Vaughn), who wants revenge for Mike stealing his wife, Alice (Eiza Gonzalez). Yet, Mike is aided by a time-traveling Nick from six months in the future, who is remorseful and wants to help set things right.
While I still think it should have been given a theatrical release, it seems like its streaming launch has been a success, with it topping the most popular movies list on Hulu—although exact figures haven’t been released. It’s always hard to quantify whether a streaming movie is a hit or not, but if you’ve watched the movie, it seems like the writer/director, BenDavid Grabinski, has an idea for a sequel in mind.
According to a new interview in THR, though, that’s not actually 100% the case. Now, before I get into it, I have to dig into some serious SPOILERS, so if you want to stay fresh, this is your warning.
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So, at the end of Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, present-day Nick (Vince Vaughn) is mortally wounded when he sacrifices himself to save Mike, which also kills Future Nick. Yet, the movie ends on a hopeful note when it’s revealed that a second time machine exists, so Mike decides to return the favor and travel back in time to save Nick. But don’t assume Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice & Mike is coming. “I don’t want to make a sequel now, but I might have an idea later on that’d be really great to do. I was just trying to have the movie function as a [standalone] movie,” said Grabinski. “Mike and Alice are going to go get their friend, especially now that he’s no longer a piece of shit. I just wanted you to leave with the feeling that they’re going to figure it out. The closure is knowing that they will. You just don’t need to know how.”
Speaking as someone who admired the movie a lot, I think that’s a refreshing take. Does the movie really need a sequel? Grabinski is right in that, when I walked out of the film, I never for a second thought Mike wouldn’t be able to save Nick in the past, giving all the characters a happy ending. Sometimes, leaving it on an ambiguously upbeat note is better. Does that mean we’ll never get a sequel? I wouldn’t say that either, as Grabinski still seems open to it, but perhaps the better call is—as Project Hail Mary has taught us—to just keep focusing on original movies. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is great as a one-off, so maybe just let it be what it is?
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