More Vince Vaughn Is Better For ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’
by Frank Martin
Few actors have had a more expansive career over the decades than Vince Vaughn. He’s been in movies focused on horror, comedy, action, drama, and everything in between. So it’s no surprise that he would star Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, a film that focuses on a multitude of genres at once. Given the unique plot of the film, Vince Vaughn plays not just two characters, but two characters that are actually the same person from different points in time. This creates an opportunity for Vince Vaughn to approach this character from very different angles, making the film better in the process.
Vince Vaughn plays the character of Nick, a hitman employed by Sosa (Keith David). After discovering that his colleague Mike (James Marsden) is having an affair with his wife Alice (Eiza Gonzalez), Nick decides to frame Mike as the one responsible for sending Sosa’s son to prison. This ultimately results in Mike’s death, which has an extremely negative impact on Nick. Regretful of his mistake, Nick uses a science project he invested in to travel back in time to try and keep Mike alive.
Mike’s death is a profound moment in Nick’s character arc. At the start of the film, present-day Nick is an arrogant fool who believes himself invulnerable. However, future Nick is much more humble and understanding of the pain that he’s caused. He’s a much more rounded person and has grown in ways that present Nick hasn’t. Since Vince Vaughn portrays both characters, the audience gets to see the profound and drastic change in Nick in real time. Vince Vaughn does a great job embodying this character from two different points in time, showing that he’s capable of both arrogance and humbleness. It’s a fine performance that very few actors could pull off.
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is now streaming on Hulu.
