Good Boys Movie Review

Boys behaving badly

by Kumari Tilakawardane
Movies & TV Shows Review

6

Good Boys Movie Review

Boys behaving badly, pre-teen style, in this Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg-produced (Preacher/The Boys) adult comedy.

Boys behaving badly isn’t exactly a new trope in film, but usually they’re angsty teenagers, or even teeny toddlers hellbent on ruining their parents’ lives. In Good Boys the titular youngsters are actually boys – around 12 – which serves to make their mischief all the funnier in this raucous and none too PG comedy.

Written by The Office and Bad Teacher scribes Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (who also directs), the film stars Room's Jacob Tremblay as Max, who – along with best pals Thor (Brady Noon) and Lucas (Keith L Williams) – is desperate to attend the cool kid's spin-the-bottle ‘kissing’ party. When the trio inexplicably score an invitation, it’s with the prospect that Max might get to kiss Brixlie (Millie Davis). This is, of course, impossible without first learning how exactly one kisses, so our heroes hatch a plan to spy on the hot girl teenagers (Midori Francis and Molly Gordon) who live next door. Using drones, because of course.

It’s a bit of an inspired choice to have the rebelling kids be actual kids

The main thing that carries this film – which, let’s face it, doesn’t exactly have an inspired plot to begin with, and is also a little bit meandering – is the likeability of the main three, and their easy camaraderie. It’s a bit of an inspired choice to have the rebelling kids be actual kids – they're not so young that the comedy feels too gross, but also not old enough to make it seedy or threatening.

Whereas in a film like The Hangover or some other zany-adults-behaving-badly title, the action would likely play out over one long night, Good Boys takes place over one brightly lit day. In a similar vein, much of the comedy centres around how innocent, naïve and generally green the boys are; from the mammoth task of reaching the mall to being winningly oblivious when faced with a sex doll. The film is produced by Seth Rogen and collaborator Evan Goldberg, and in parts does feel like another iteration of the duo’s Superbad – but more innocent, less outrageous and a bit less laugh-out-loud funny.
Good Boys
It’s reminiscent of recent films Booksmart and Blockers – the latter in particular, in that (for the most part) it manages to be not unbearably lascivious. There are parts where the camera feels intrusive, and where the main punchline seems to be little more than young boys saying bad words and being around sex stuff, but the film manages to keep a decent balance between the more off-colour stuff and the overarching theme of friendship, which is more heart-warming than stomach-churning.

There are some nice themes that each boy represents that give the film a bit of heart and character, and also play nicely into the less puerile elements of comedy throughout. Max is at that stage where everything is forever, so he loves Millie and they’re going to get married and that’s it. Thor is constantly being told he’s uncool for loving musicals and being himself. And Lucas has just found out about his parent’s divorce, so he’s suddenly dramatically aware of how temporary everything (read: love) is.

The film is produced by Seth Rogen and collaborator Evan Goldberg, and in parts does feel like another iteration of the duo’s Superbad– but more innocent, less outrageous and a bit less laugh-out-loud funny

The trio wind up finding themselves in increasingly unlikely and dangerous situations. First, they steal the drone that Max’s dad (Will Forte) uses for work to spy on the neighbours. Then when it’s stolen in turn by them, they end up with a mysterious supply of drugs. Then trying to offload that leads them to having to traipse across town and run into a police officer en route.

The plot isn’t particularly advanced, and there is – despite Stupinsky and Eisenberg’s best efforts – something a tad gross and voyeuristic about following these kids across various sexual-adjacent escapades, but the three lead performances are fantastic, and the elements of relatability, comedy and friendship that pervade the film end up making for an amusing, slightly heart-warming and ultimately light-heartedly enjoyable film that might not be destined for greatness, but will certainly provide a couple of Friday-night chuckles.

Scores

Verdict

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7

7
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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