Well, Kim Basinger still can't act.

Makes you wonder indeed. Must be plenty of actresses who could do something funny or interesting with this part although it's not very well written. Basinger brings nothing to the table whatsoever.

She's pretty bland but was hot back in the day and also has an Oscar.

++++++
Love means never having to say you're ugly. - The Abominable Dr. Phibes

She was pretty good in LA Confidential.

http://whatculture.com/film/the-nice-guys-10-reasons-its-the-most-overrated-film-of-the-year?page=5

7. Kim Basinger Is Flat As A Pancake

Kim Basinger turns up in The Nice Guys for the sum of, oh, 10 minutes, poised as a kind of villain named Judith Kutner, a Department of Justice official who may or may not have masterminded much of the chaos that spurs our heroes into action.

She needn't have bothered, though; Basinger is flat as a pancake for every minute she's on screen, delivering a performance so lifeless that you're left wondering whether she died during production and the studio were forced to render most of her performance with cheap CGI. It's that bad.

The Nice Guys was supposed to give movie-goers an awesome reunion by way of Crowe and Basinger, who starred together in the infinitely superior L.A. Confidential back in 1997 - a film for which she won an Oscar, by the way. Not only has the magic faded, the pair barely get a chance to interact.

Black doesn't even bother to make a meta-reference with regards to the fact that these two were once in a period crime film together. Poor show all round.

She's always been that beautiful, even into her early sixties, that she doesn't need to act.

One of the top actresses of her generation.... she most definitely is not. In short, she’s no great actress. Having said that, I do think she’s been decent in a few of her roles (LA Confidential being her best work by far, although I echo the sentiments of those who felt her Oscar win was undeserving).

But as far as her performance in The Nice Guys go, yeah... she’s as forgettable as it gets. Granted she didn’t have much material to work it, however I’m certain there are many actresses out there that could have at least made this a more memorable, maybe funny, role. Like somebody else said, Basinger brought absolutely nothing to the table.

Side note: if Basinger - and other older actresses like her - continue to land good roles in films despite their supposed lack of talent, then more power to them! The douchebros evidently take issue with that XD