‘Good Boys’ was directed by Gene Stupnitsky and is about three 6th grade boys known as the “Beanbag Boys” (Starring Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon) who after accidentally obtaining illegal drugs are being hunted by two teenage girls (played by Molly Gordon and Midori Francis). The boys have lived next door to each other their entire lives, but in this hilariously vulgar and often touching comedy, their friendships will be challenged by growing up, and I had a great time watching it!
First of all the three boys Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon were all excellent. I loved their comedic timing and just acting, in general, was really impressive. Jacob Tremblay, in particular, continues to be a rising star, I don’t see him not getting work anytime soon. The surprise performance that really stole the show was by Keith L. Williams, I loved his comedic sensibilities and timing, he has some of the best parts in an already densely rich comedy. Supporting characters like Tremblay’s characters father, played by Will Forte was great. the bully kid played by Chance Hurstfield was also great and some of my favorite jokes revolved around his character.
The jokes really stay strong throughout the movie even during the more story-centric parts, the emotional moments still had comedy sprinkled into the scenes and was spaced really well. Sure, the jokes are very dirty, VERY R-rated, but when you go into a film like this you have that expectation so depending on how sensitive you are to kids making sexual and vulgar jokes, this isn’t for you. The thing with me is, I LOVE this kind of humor, and the writers deserve all the credit in the world for how well built the jokes told were. This is the same creative team behind The Office and Superbad and it’s not ashamed to pay homage to both.
The story while not groundbreakingly original still has a strong core that you can instantly connect to. There are a lot of similarities to the above mentioned “SuperBad” as far as story structure, friends, in a coming of age setting, having to get to a certain place that they believe will solve all their issues and grow throughout that journey. We also say this story earlier this year with Olivia Munn’s “Booksmart”, which I also really loved. In my opinion, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and though this may be an overplayed story, I loved what they were able to do with it in a middle school setting.
Overall, I had a blast watching ‘Good Boys’. It’s got great humor, great acting and is definitely for the Seth Rogan comedy fans out there.