‘Good Boys’ Review
Stars: Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Molly Gordon, Midori Francis, Izaac Wang, Millie Davis, Josh Caras, Will Forte, Mariessa Portelance, Lil Rel Howery, Retta, Michaela Watkins, Christian Darrel Scott, Macie Juiles, Chance Hurstfield, Enid-Raye Adams, Alexander Calvert | Written by Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky | Directed by Gene Stupnitsky
The trepidation of going into a cinema auditorium and seeing a bunch of prepubescent kids scream and shout obscenities and indulge in some terrible stuff is at an all-time high with Gene Stupnitsky’s Good Boys hailed as a kindergarten Superbad, whatever that means. It is quite strange that this film has been made in the first place.
Good Boys follows three 6th grade boys ditch school and embark on an epic journey while carrying accidentally stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited party…
Firstly, with the enormous success of Booksmart subverting the classic genre convention of the teenager, one would expect for Hollywood to explore different means of a way, Yet, it decides to go down a trope for a target audience that cannot even buy a ticket to watch the film. Secondly and probably the hardest job of Good Boys is to try and coax audiences in to see a movie that’s most significant selling point is kids swearing. It is a limited pull and one that is arguably going to significantly affect the box office for a feature that actually succeeds in being a joy to watch.
With Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg producing Good Boys feels like we have been here before with Drillbit Taylor, written by the duo and follows a trio of early high schoolers in their small, narrow-minded world. Good Boys here and there is the same product aimed at an even younger age group. Good Boys lacks the poignancy and perspective of Drillbit Taylor and often than not chooses the ridiculous and gratuitous for a quick comedic high. It is the one aspect of Stupnitsky’s film that is in undoubtedly its weakest. Such a tone becomes tiresome and overly ridiculous to the point the viewer loses interest fast.
It is the dynamic of the young three performers that keep this afloat: that and its rather impressive latter stage poignancy of an ever-developing and evolving relationship between the three from writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky who to their credit craft a beautifully natural and pure relationship between the trio in the films latter stages that is incredibly different to what one would usually expect for these films to end.
Good Boys is in cinemas now.
