Good Boys (2019)

“Good Boys” stars Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Will Forte, Molly Gordon, Midori Francis, and Josh Caras.  Released on August 16, 2019, the film has three boys embarking on a series of unusual misadventures.

The film features the directorial debut of Gene Stupnitsky, who is known for co-writing “The Office”, “Year One”, and “Bad Teacher” with Lee Eisenberg.  There are some people in the world who were introduced to some pretty dirty stuff when they were younger, and it can often lead to some awkward situations if they take them the wrong way.  This film, in particular, resembles that situation.  It may sound like a film for kids based on the child actors that starred in it, but from the looks of the poster, it is anything but a film for kids.  Seriously, take a good look at this poster for yourself and then ask me if this looks like something parents should take their kids to.  The most obvious reason as to why I was looking forward to this adult-rated comedy is the involvement of producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who were pretty successful with writing and producing their adult comedies so far even though some of them weren’t exactly that good.  Will this one continue their healthy streak?  Let’s find out.
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If you watched the other films from producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, you'll know that this film has plenty of adult-rated material that isn't suitable for people under the age of 16.  Ranging from the adult language to the amount of jokes that relate to sex and drugs, "Good Boys" has pretty much everything it needs to deliver a raunchy late-summer treat for the adults.  But does that mean it's worth a watch?  Well, for people who want a tolerable R-rated comedy with lots of laughs and a solid amount of heart, I would say yes.  Not only did this film succeed in delivering some big WTH laughs, but it also delivered a thoughtful coming-of-age tale about friendship.  Its mixture of adult humor and heart can be a bit off putting at times, which will depend on how much you prefer this type of humor, but it managed to make me laugh and smile all the way through, regardless.  The three young main actors (Tremblay, Williams, and Noon) provided some fantastic chemistry together from the beginning to the very end.  Whether it's for the funny parts or for the not-so-funny parts, these boys put on one heck of a show for me.  The director has been known for writing some pretty unusual pieces of comedy, and seeing him display them in "Good Boys" from his own vision was something that I was looking forward to ever since I first saw the trailers.  All I could say about his directorial debut is that he did a solid job at making this work.  The R-rated humor was nothing but pure hilarity and chaos, which is typical for an adult comedy from Rogen and Goldberg.  There were so many parts in the film where I just did nothing but laughed my butt off, with most of them being the main characters’ reactions to certain things like porn.  I think what made it work for me was how relatable these jokes were.  It’s pretty much the experience of people doing some troubling things to accomplish something they want to accomplish when they’re in middle school.  It’s sort of like “Superbad”, but with tweens.  My only concern with its humor is that it’s not going to please everyone, especially those who are not fans of young kids cursing every few minutes or so.  If you don’t like this type of humor, my only advice to you is to watch either “Dora” or “Angry Birds” instead.  In terms of its flaws, I already mentioned that the balance between humor and heart is far from perfect.  The main reason why, in my personal opinion, was the direction they took for Tremblay's character, Max, and his father (Forte).  At first, I thought the relationship between the two characters was about to go somewhere and the film would have it resolved on a good note near its conclusion.  Turns out, the film made a sudden U-turn in the third act by not resolving this element at all and have it end with a mean-spirited joke that’s more hurtful than funny.  To me, it’s the worst thing people could do in comedies like this.  I mean, they’re OK as long as they’re funny, but if they’re more mean than hilarious, then that could spell trouble.

Overall, in terms of the humor and the cast, “Good Boys” is a good time at the movies, even though it might not impress people who aren’t fans of this type of comedy.  The cast was fantastic, the humor was full of non-stop hilarity, and the story was suitable enough to be as thoughtful as its message.  I had a lot of fun with this film and, based on my experience, I think anyone who just want a good laugh will have fun with it as well.  It’s a satisfying adult comedy that has the right amount of crass and heart to liven up the dog days of summer.

B+