Ryan Gosling's new film The Nice Guys serves as a reminder that Ryan can look pretty damn good while wearing anything, really — an ugly print shirt, a bright blue suit, a mustache, and even a soul patch, and yes, I'm still very much attracted to the person it's attached to. In honor of Ryan and all the fine work he's done on the big screen, here's a look back at his movies and how good he's looked in (most of) them. (It should be noted that Frankenstein and Me, Ryan's first film, is not on the list because he was just a wee baby lad and also Burt Reynolds easily won the hot title for that film in 1997).
19. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Ryan's basically a walking billboard for what you would find at the Salvation Army on a bad day. Sorry for giving you the last spot here, Lars. While the story is sweet, the flannel isn't doing anything for me.
18. Remember the Titans (2000)
Ryan has a small but important role in this football drama. His tiny little arms are just taking shape. His beautiful locks are beginning to mean something. He's also got a great dance scene, which is mostly of him shimmying his shoulders.
17. The Believer (2001)
I know, I know, I was just talking about his hair and now I'm saying a clean-shaven Ryan is also hot. It also doesn't help that he's a Neo-Nazi in the film. Can I live? And can someone tell me why Ryan's eyebrows are so well-groomed here?
16. The Slaughter Rule (2002)
This is another Ryan football film but he's more rugged than Titans, and that's a good thing.
15. The Big Short (2015)
Ryan trying to explain the financial crisis to me is like Ryan reading the dictionary or a long novel about the Spanish Civil War. They're all mostly boring subjects (sorry) but I'm always here for his hot voice. It's so hot in The Big Short that you will forget about the awful hair he wears when you see him on screen.
14. The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
Shirtless scene: check. Sweet stares at his onscreen (and real-life) lover: check. Ryan looking extra-adorable while holding adorable baby: check. Bleached hair: fine.
13. The United States of Leland (2003)
It might be a bit much to comment on Ryan's looks considering the very serious subject of Leland (a teenage boy not remembering a murder he committed), but unlike The Big Short, this dark hair works if you were once really into bands like Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional.
12. Stay (2005)
This film is also part of what I like to call Ryan's emo era (see previous entry). The storyline, which includes elements of paranoia and death, isn't all that convincing, but Ryan's hair, especially when wet, is A+.
11. All Good Things (2008)
If it weren't for that frazzled orange hair and the chilling reminder of Robert Durst's existence (reminder: Ryan's character is based on the real-life Durst), this would rank higher. There's a shower scene and he's in briefs at one point.
10. Murder by Numbers (2002)
I'd like to think Ryan's experiences behind the wheel in this film was a major influence on just how hot he looks in Drive, which would not come out for another nine years. Also, I'm a sucker for the way he looks at Sandra Bullock in the movie.
9. Fracture (2007)
This is an updated look on the clean-shaven Ryan from The Believer and he plays a young assistant D.A. I love me some Ryan Gosling interrogation scenes.
8. Only God Forgives (2013)
Ryan's body is insane in this film, which doesn't explain why people at Cannes showered it with boos when it screened that year.
7. Blue Valentine (2010)
Peel away the fact that this is really, really sad movie, along with the part where Ryan gets all angry and loses some of his hair — he's basically perfect in it. Wedding-day Ryan is my favorite, right behind moving-day Ryan.
6. The Ides of March (2011)
Ryan wears nice shirts and talks campaign strategies for just under two hours. This is a reminder of how good Ryan looks in a suit and tie.
5. Half Nelson (2006)
Hot teacher alert.
4. Gangster Squad (2013)
Ryan also looks good in a three-piece suit and a fedora. Ryan should really wear more fedoras IRL.
3. Drive (2011)
If you ignore all the bloody and violent parts of the film, and the fact that his character is a bit strange, you get one seriously hot Ryan Gosling. The scorpion jacket is the golden cherry on top.
2. The Notebook (2004)
I don't know if it's romantic vibes, the fact that he'll always be Allie's bird, or the way he looks at her when they're in a rowboat, but there are so many ways he's H-O-T here. Again, wet Ryan is never, ever a bad thing.
1. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Ryan is ripped in this movie. And there are so many good Ryan things to enjoy here: his beautiful abs, his perfect tan, the way he hands Emma Stone an Old Fashioned, the way he just stands there while she basks in said abs, the way he eats pizza. But really, abs.
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