★★★
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.
Classification: 15
There might be nothing funnier than listening to a child swear, something about the juxtaposition of innocence and vulgarity that taps into a part of our brains that has us laugh out loud from the sheer audacity. Which is why almost every moment in Good Boys leads to uproarious laughter from the whole audience as director Gene Stupnitsky leads this trio of child actors to indecent glory. Influenced by the producer's seminal work of Superbad, it follows a similar storyline of adolescents on a coming of age adventure involving drink, drugs, parties and seeing their bonds tested against their desires. Like this year's earlier comedy Booksmart, the similarities to Superbad are at a structural level and what makes Good Boys stand apart is in its comedic performers and the fresh approach to the material and tropes of the genre. A comedy lives or dies based on the talent of its cast and most, fortunately, the titular good boys live up to their name with fine performances from Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon.
There isn't a weak element to the three characters as each is defined clearly and are each given incredible scene-stealing moments. It all ties back into the mix of innocence and vulgarity as the boy's clueless understandings of what they're dealing with leads to great comic effect. From subtle displays of mispronouncing words or more noticeable errors such as trying to be drugs from a frat house, no matter how outlandish the story takes these characters it remains grounded by the relatable stakes threatening the characters. The three children deliver the comedy effortlessly but its when Good Boys takes itself seriously in its brief moments that the story and characters can hit home. Despite how ridiculous everything can become it is still a story of a friendship trying to survive adversity whether it be through relatable or insane obstacles. Each character is going through their own crucible, whether it be sacrificing their passion for popularity or dealing with the divorce of his parents, these struggles give weight to the comedy and allow Good Boys to be more than a series of scenes of 12-year-olds saying fuck.
The creativity of Good Boys comedy is another element that elevates the film as the scenarios the story puts the characters are both organic and hilarious. Stupnitsky follows a very clear rule of the comedic setups being used to advance the plot and character development, every escalation has a purpose. Using childlike curiosity and fear, every joke feels tailor-made to suit the characters rather than placing the boys in clichéd scenarios so when the boys attempt to sell a trading card to a stranger while armed with sex toys, it feels completely natural and the comedy is all the better for it. Scenes like that also confirm that Good Boys can still be shocking with its subject matter as the adventure took has quite a few scenes that have your jaw drop from how far the boys will go to accomplish their goal. Its the commitment from the cast in selling the urgency of the premise that makes the boys adventure completely believable. Jacob Tremblay's adorable frustration leading him to curse every other scene and take more insane risks is a constant delight and his chemistry with the two newcomers Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon is dynamite. Noon's character of Thor, a theatre kid who believes he has a tough bravado that makes him cool has a great arc of coming to accept who he is while breaking the law and uttering some of the most obscene phrases a child could speak. Williams is their opposite, as a sweet innocent who just wants to maintain some normalcy after his parent's divorce and finds his friends new escapades with drugs, sex toys and their interest in parties distressing, with his outbursts and panic being some of the best scene-stealing moments.
Despite similarities to other films in its genre, Good Boys is still a hilarious ride at the cinema cemented by great performances not just from its main cast but even from the supporting roles and cameos, Stephen Merchant and Sam Richardson especially. Stupnitsky has real confidence as a comedy director and fearlessly pushes the boys through a shocking yet emotional story about friendship and growing up. It is never obscene for the sake of shock value but to have the boys face head-on their curiosities about what lies ahead in their future. We laugh as they learn and by the end, their fears about kissing parties and popularity seem insignificant compared to what they have faced. They are still immature and have much to learn but Good Boys puts it story before comedy and is a better film because of the maturity behind the camera.
Director: #GeneStupnitsky
Cast: #JacobTremblay, #KeithLWilliams, #BradyNoon, #WillForte, #MollyGordon, #MidoriFrancis, #JoshCaras
Release Date: August 16th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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