Three sixth 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.
The poster for “Good Boys” states, “From the guys who brought you SUPERBAD, NEIGHBORS and SAUSAGE PARTY.” That should pretty much sum up this film and give you an idea of what to expect. Except it doesn’t. Trailers can only show so much and while the previews for “Good Boys” actually had some funny moments, the movie in its entirety is completely different. I can watch and laugh at crass humor all day long when the gags and physical antics are performed by adults, or, at the youngest, high school seniors, à la “Superbad.” With “Good Boys” however, we watch as three sixth-graders curse, blaspheme, and utter profanities throughout the entire 90-minute runtime and sometimes participate in adult-oriented sight gags that utilize sex toys such as vibrators, bondage masks, and anal beads. I’m sure you’re cracking up now!
Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams), and Thor (Brady Noon) are three 12-year-old best friends who live on the same street, have grown up together, and call themselves The Beanbag Boys because, you know, they have beanbags. When Max is invited to his very first kissing party by Soren (Izaac Wang), the coolest kid in his class, he asks if he can bring Lucas and Thor with him and Soren begrudgingly obliges. The three friends are ecstatic as they will now be at the same party where all the cool kids from their class will be but there’s only one problem: none of them have ever kissed a girl before. No worries, they jump on the internet and I’m sure you can imagine what pops up on the screen after entering the words “kissing” and finally “porn.”
Things go from bad to worse when they try spying on two neighborhood high school girls who they think are lesbians using Max’s dad’s drone, only for the girls to catch it and then smash it into the ground. When the boys drop by the house and ask for it back, the girls refuse and upon leaving, Thor steals one of their bags which contains a tampon, lipstick, and a bottle of sex drugs. The three boys and the two girls meet in the local park to make a trade but things don’t go according to plan and when the drone winds up being smashed by a passing bus, Max insists on going to the mall to buy a replacement drone for his dad before he comes back from his business trip, using money the three of them have accumulated from selling trading cards. Our hapless heroes barely manage to escape from one zany exploit only to be thrown headfirst into another, with no end in sight. Rest assured, by the end of the film, Max, Lucas, and Thor learn the importance of friendship, respecting women, and exactly what a sex swing is.
The filmmakers obviously thought it would be hilarious to take adult situations and language and let three 12-year-olds take the place of the adults. I guess because the films listed on the poster, “Superbad,” “Neighbors,” and “Sausage Party” were successful, they apparently thought the next logical step would be to use kids, and in the sequel, they will resort to utilizing John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Kirstie Alley’s voices as the three protagonists will be infants. The occasional swear word from a child can be funny and impactful because of that very reason, it is random and unexpected. Obviously, Gene Stupnitsky, in his feature-film directorial debut, has never heard of the term “in moderation” because for the almost 90 minutes of so-called humor that is forced upon us, the three young leads can’t do or say anything without subjecting us to obscenities, lewdness, and vulgarity. Believe me, I am no prude, I grew up watching Richard Pryor and Robin Williams live in concert but they were master comedians who were talking to mature audiences about their own lives and they were only too happy to poke fun at themselves and their own shortcomings.
Please, do not take young children to see this film, while there are young actors in it, it is in no way a kid-friendly picture. I have watched in awe, and sometimes, plain astonishment, at the sheer absent-mindedness of some parents who think it fine to take young children to movies like this, only to turn around afterward and criticize the filmmakers for the movie’s content. Go to Youtube and watch the trailer or go to IMDb and look up the rating for the film and you should find everything you need to know. In moderation, Mr. Stupnitsky, in moderation.
Now available on Digital HD and on Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand November 12th
