Grade: C+
Looking back at my childhood, I can safely say that I never got into too much trouble. I never went to any parties as a sixth grader, I was not drinking at such a young age, nor was I around any drugs. I have always lead a very vanilla life. I never even went to a party in high school. When I heard of a party during high school around campus, I just assumed it was in celebration of someone’s birthday. By the time I was a senior, I did eventually learn that the type of parties that were being held were not birthday parties. Still, I never had any desire to attend one. My group of friends were not the partying type and we were ok with it. I still had fun in high school without the partying experience.
In the new summer comedy “Good Boys,” moviegoers get a glimpse into the life of clueless sixth graders learning all they can about a “grown up” life as they prepare for their first “kissing” party. “Good Boys” is directed by Gene Stupnitsky and co-produced by Seth Rogen. It stars Jacob Tremblay (playing Max), Keith L. Williams (playing Lucas), and Brady Noon (playing Thor). “Good Boys” follows the three kids on their crazy hour and a half adventure as Max tries to recover his father’s drone to avoid getting grounded. To avoid spoilers, I will not dive any deeper into the plot, but that is the main backdrop for the movie.
Taking into account that the main actors are kids, the kids did a pretty decent job doing all sorts of things they are not legally allowed to do. During the course of their adventure, the kids wind up taking “sips of beer,” buying drugs, and looking at porn while underage. Of course those are just a few of the “antics” within the movie. Some of them are funnier than others and some are more raunchy than others. Being that it was rated “R”, I was expecting it to push the envelope a bit more than it did. “Good Boys” had so much potential but it wound up leaving me disappointed for the most part.
Don’t get me wrong, it is funny and you will laugh, but I was expecting to laugh way more. By today’s standards, the things the kids do in the movie are somewhat “tame.” There was a running drinking joke in the movie that just makes you think “big deal.” Maybe to a real sixth grader, this would be absolutely mind blowing and a total chuckle fest, but for your average adult, it may come across as pretty “ho-hum.”
“Good Boys” relies on the kids’ innocence for laughs. They confuse words often like “nymphomaniac” and think a blow up sex doll is a CPR doll they use for kissing practice. Some of the jokes land better than others but the whole “innocence type” jokes eventually get tired after a while. Surprisingly, the movie does contain a good amount of heart within the story and this causes the raunch gas pedal to ease off a bit. One of the main messages of the story is friendship. The three kids have a lifelong friendship and even go by the “Bean Bag Boys.” It is sort of like their own club and the “Bean Bag Boys” bond is what glues the kids together. It is a cute story of friendship that does make you look back at your childhood friends. Maybe you have even been able to maintain that friendship today? Over the course of the hour and a half, the kids do get into quite a few sticky situations and their special friendship is usually the key factor that saves them.
While “Good Boys” is not one of the funniest comedies to come out recently, it does deliver a pretty good heartwarming story about friendship. Grab a few of your oldest friends and give it a whirl just don’t expect a total raunch fest. If anything, it will make you think of your first kiss and all the good times you had with your best friends.