REVIEW: Good Boys

Courtesy of Universal

Apparently, 2019 is the year of Superbad homages. Earlier this year, Booksmart (a criminally underrated comedy that failed to find mainstream success) was marketed as “Superbad with girls.” That wasn’t exactly true, but considering star Beanie Feldstein is Jonah Hill’s sister, I get why the PR campaign worked hard to make that connection.

On the other hand, Good Boys, a new comedy hitting theaters this weekend, is being billed as “Superbad with tweens” and it’s a much more obvious successor. For starters, it’s executive produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who co-wrote the modern classic it evokes. A good thing, since the films’ plots are so alike that I’d call it a rip-off if they weren’t involved.

Fortunately, despite the blatant surface similarities and a deceptively lazy hook – “isn’t it funny to watch 12-year-olds drop the f-bomb and pretend to know about sex?” – the film works. That’s chiefly due to nonstop, rapid-fire jokes; solid actors who overcome basic characters; and an unapologetically kind heart beneath its shockingly crude exterior.

The story revolves around sixth-graders Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon), who get invited to their first minimally supervised coed party. Both excited and terrified at the prospect of kissing, they spy on the teenage girls (Molly Gordon and Midori Francis) next door in hopes of picking up some pointers. This leads to a hilarious journey involving a broken drone and stolen drugs, both of which could lead the kids to getting in big trouble and missing the party.

Make no mistake: despite those cute kids on the poster, Good Boys is a hard-R flick. Just because it has the boy from Wonder in it doesn’t make it family friendly. The opening scene alone will have parents who didn’t do their research fleeing the theater. (Literally, the first word in the movie starts with “f.”) Take the rating seriously.

But screenwriters Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (who also directed) understand that kids on the verge of their teen years often mask their pain, fear, and insecurity with macho posturing. (Heck, some adults are still stuck in that phase.) Once that armor is stripped away, the problems Max, Lucas and Thor face are poignant and relatable.

I was not only impressed by the sheer volume of jokes, but also how varied they are. There’s a killer combination of gross-out gags, clever one-liners and self-aware comments about how mean-spirited comedies like this can be (especially toward women). There’s also a random joke so dark it actually made me gasp like I’d been punched in the stomach. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hilarious and the character who says it gets immediate karmic retribution. But wow.

While Tremblay is the obvious standout – turns out his comedic skills are almost as strong as his dramatic abilities – two other actors made the biggest impression on me. Williams is fantastic as the kindhearted Lucas, the only one in the trio who’s in no hurry to grow up.

His reactions to the increasingly chaotic situations they find themselves in are hilarious, and he does his darnedest to keep the movie grounded when it threatens to turn into a live-action cartoon. He’s not always successful, but nevertheless…

The other stealth MVP is Francis, whose random delivery and intense overreactions to her predicament are consistently entertaining. She’s also phenomenal in a chase sequence that’s straight out of a Terminator movie.

Good Boys isn’t going to win any points for originality, but it’s a fun way to wrap up what has been a mostly lackluster summer at the box office. I could see this one having a long, healthy life on Blu-ray, VOD and cable as well – especially since viewers who’d love it the most aren’t yet old enough to buy a ticket. Multiplex ushers are going to be checking ticket stubs and IDs like crazy this weekend.

Good Boys is rated R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout – all involving tweens.

Grade: B