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Article by Nathan Hurlbut
Back in 2007, the movie Superbad was an appealing and frequently hilarious story of a single day in the lives of three high school students. It featured Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, and of course, Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s McLovin as a charming trio of horny teenagers looking to lose their virginity at a local party. Plus Bill Hader and Seth Rogan (who co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Evan Goldberg) made for an entertaining pair of the most irresponsible police officers you could possibly imagine.
Both Rogan and Goldberg serve as producers on the new film Good Boys and that’s certainly no surprise. After all, if you take Superbad’s trio of high school students, reduce their age down to sixth graders, you essentially have the premise of Good Boys.
Not that Good Boys is necessarily just a copycat version of that previous movie. Sure, it is difficult to ignore the similarities between both movies that feature a trio of young characters over the course of an impossibly eventful single day desperately trying to make it to a party. (Here, they have the thankfully more innocent goal of kissing a girl rather than losing their virginity). However, while the premise of Good Boys will certainly feel vaguely familiar, fortunately the movie exudes a specific charm all its own.
Max (Jacon Tremblay), Thor (Brady Noon), and Lucas (Keith L. Williams) are sixth grade buddies who refer to themselves as “The Beanbag Boys.” When they get invited to a “kissing party” by Soren (Izaac Wang), one of the popular kids at school, they are both excited and terrified, realizing they all know nothing about kissing. Max decides to borrow his father’s (Will Forte) beloved drone to spy on teenage girl Hannah (Molly Gordon) who lives next door in an attempt to learn how kissing works, only to have the drone is confiscated by Hannah and her friend Lilly (Midori Francis).
Following a confrontation with the girls that gets them nowhere, Thor manages to lift a prescription bottle containing ecstasy from them, offering to trade it for the drone. Unfortunately, this arrangement suffers all kinds of setbacks, as the “Beanbag Boys” desperately attempt a variety of strategies to ensure they will make it to the party so Max can kiss Brixlee (Millie Davis), the girl of his dreams.
Back in 1997, Trey Parker and Matt Stone stumbled across a pretty amusing idea. They had the notion of creating a crudely animated television show that featured a group of elementary school kids who swear a lot. They called it South Park.
Good Boys uses that premise to full effect. Admittedly, as the movie begins, watching these kids (I mean tweens, as they constantly remind others) drop the f-bomb with alarming frequency is initially pretty funny. Unfortunately, the movie continues down this path so rigorously that once the shock value wears off, the notion becomes fairly repetitious. As does the trio’s frequent interactions with adult sex toys that is met with an amusing degree of misunderstanding and bewilderment. However, this joke is also eventually driven into the ground, milking the story for easy laughs that eventually becomes pretty tiresome the longer the movie plays out.
In fact, these constant incidents of swearing and references to sex are really window dressing on a movie that tries hard to appear shocking when it really has fully wholesome core. The movie is very much like Keith L. Williams’ character of Lucas (in the movie’s most entertaining performance), who is more concerned with following the rules and being “a good boy.” (“You had us bring drugs to a playground!’ he indignantly exclaims to their teenage adversaries at one point.) Lucas exemplifies what this movie is really all about, a struggle to do something seemingly naughty, but losing its nerve. Like Lucas skipping out on a game of spin-the-bottle in the basement towards the end of the movie, the filmmakers seem equally more interested in going upstairs to innocently play video games.
In fact, while South Park has certainly stirred up its fair share of controversy over the years, Good Boys will never be confused for having the same subversive nature. (This is no Wonder Showzen, after all.) However, once you accept this fact, the movie proves to be a fairly enjoyable and nostalgic ride. The movie’s success rides high on the chemistry between its three leads, who all deliver endearing performances and display an easy camaraderie that is undeniably charming.
Fortunately, screenwriters Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg do have the nerve to reveal how tenuous these friendships are. We eventually get to see into the near future as all three boys pursue different interests, suggesting their days as the self-described “Beanbag Boys” are numbered. It’s in this third act that the movie finally dumps the attempts at shock value it had previously relied on and becomes something more meaningful.
So yes, the movie draws easy comparisons to other movies. And yes, many of its jokes grow tiresome the longer the movie plays out. However, there’s also enough originality and other inventive humor to keep these flaws in check, creating a fairly entertaining movie in the end. Good Boys may not be as shocking as it would like you to think it is, but retains enough of its own “tween” charm to make it a rewarding movie in its own right.
Rated R.