Good Boys Contains Enough Solid Laughs, Charm, And Heart To Compensate For Its Excessive Use Of Profanity

      Making a successful comedy that resonates with audiences is by no means an easy task. The key to making one that lands with audiences rather than crashes is presenting humor thats fresh, feels natural, and is surrounded by characters and story the audience can not only relate to but become connected with. With Good Boys, producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, the writers and director Gene Stupnitsky   opt for a young Superbad style approach with the story focusing around a group of young boys with potty mouths going on a childhood adventure, which involves tons of mayhem and raunchy laughs. The gimmick with the story is that the filmmakers rely on the young child stars to deliver jokes that are often dipped in profane humor, while delivering the films thoughtful message regarding puberty​ being a strange time period of change in a kids life with it's likable cast of young actors ultimately selling the story. With Good Boys, the film is bound to test older audiences tolerance in regards to the films shock factor of hearing young children using excessive amounts of profanity, but the story manages to not only work in a way that makes it feel relatable to audiences as they'll recollect their own childhood era, it also carries with it enough heart and charm to make it work while being a fun experience that works best as being a young companion to Superbad.

      The plot for Good Boys centers around three sixth grade boys Max, Lucas, and Thor (All played wonderfully by Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon), who plan to attend their first make-out party. Since none of the young boys know how to kiss, one of the boys ends up taking his father's drone and uses it to spy on teen couples in the neighborhood. However, the plan ends up backfiring when the drone ends up getting destroyed with one bad decision leading to another resulting in the young boys getting into trouble. Good Boys presents a unique (As well as polarizing) style of comedy to the audience with the story playing both as a harmless coming of age story mixed with the type of humor that's typically found in a Judd Apatow or Seth Rogen comedy. Good Boys is not only well-intentioned with it's story but aims to not only make the audience laugh, but also for them to connect with the young characters while becoming engulfed in the ridiculousness of the plot. What makes the story work for this film is the realism of it with the young characters being shown not having much life experience with certain scenarios, which comes across as being both funny and understandable to audiences. With Good Boys, it's not the amount of over-the-top and vulgar humor that will shock audiences the most about it (Kids nowadays talk very much like the young characters in the film), rather it's the surprise amount of both charm and heart that's incorporated into the story which ultimately smoothes over the controversial aspects of the film, that certain portions of the audience might feel uncomfortable with. While the profanity might unease some viewers, the heart and sentimentality of the story is strong enough to keep them interested in the young characters adolescent journey.

      One of the key elements that makes the film work is the strong chemistry between the young main actors, as well as their fun and charismatic performances. Young actors Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon deliver strong performances as Max, Lucas, and Thor with each actor getting their moment to shine in the story while making their characters appealing enough for the audience to become invested in the plot. The trio of young actors work so well together, that it's hard to choose which one is the standout of the three, as they all share hilarious moments, particularly ones where they observe or learn about adult situations. Out of three young actors playing their roles, Jacob Tremblay carries the main arc of the story with his role as Max. He manages to handle his role very well while giving the story a central character, who helps provide the film with a structural narrative. Keith L Williams also impresses playing Lucas with his inability to tell lies along with his character having some of the films best lines, that will leave the audience in stitches. The chemistry between the young actors is a huge part of why the film works as well as it does, and elevates it to where there's sincerity within the story along with heart. As far as the supporting cast goes, Will Forte and Lil Rel Howery deliver notable and hilarious supporting performances as the goofy dad's to Max and Lucas with Retta performing well too as Lucas mother. Other notable performances are Molly Gordon as Hannah as well a Midori Francis as Lily. As a whole, the cast does well working together as they bring charm, charisma, and energy to their roles. The film wouldn't have turned out to be as fun and entertaining as it ultimately ends up being if the casting of the young actors wasn't spot on with the trio having fantastic chemistry, as well as good comedic timing. The older actors do a great job of working off their young counterparts while adding to the silliness of the plot

      In terms of the films directing, Gene Stupnitsky delivers what can be best be described as serviceable yet ultimately decent work in terms of helming the film. Where Stupnitsky thrives as director is managing to get strong performances out of his young actors, while creating a youth style atmosphere that feels similar to films like The Sandlot, Superbad, and Take Me Home Tonight. The questionable aspects of his directing is despite the filling of the movie with endless amounts of outrageous humor, gags, and innuendo, the use of profanity delivered by the young trio sometimes feels forced. Although the two stories are completely different, the recent remakes of IT have somewhat of a similar yet twisted style in terms of being a kids story draped with elements, that make it a film aimed specifically for adults rather than the audience that shares the same age as the kids in the film. Despite Good Boys being a film with young kids as the main stars, its not designed to be a film that young people would want to watch due to it's raunchy nature, but one that older teen audiences can view and enjoy if they can get past the excessive use of profanity. The films editing keeps the story moving at a fast enough pace, that the story never feels boring nor slow with the main characters constantly on the move while keeping the audience engaged in their scenario. In regards to the films directing, Stupnitsky for the most part succeeds in finding the appropriate tone of the film, that balances out the child aspect of the plot mixed with the adult nature of the humor. It's not a film that's aimed for everyone, but the directing does it's best to balance out the two contrasting aspects of the film.

      As far as the films writing goes, the films screenplay also by George Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg does a convincing job of writing the film as a harmless comedy, that serves both as a combination of all the successful childhood storytelling formulas such as the typical coming of age story mixed with a teaspoon of childhood adventure. The structural aspect of the story for the most part remains focused with a sentimental aspect added to it with themes regarding friendship, parenting, divorce, growing up, and kids learning about what love and sex are. What makes this film comparable to Superbad is the fact that both films stories are rather silly, but are written in a style that adds both realism and innocence to them. They manage to work as their own respective films by telling their stories with strong characters that the the audience can not only have fun watching but are relatable, making the audience remember their own childhoods or moments of goofiness like the ones depicted in both Good Boys and Superbad. Good Boys script also manages to tackle mature themes that many sixth graders either experience or wonder about including the separation of families, as well as the strengthening of friendships. While some audiences may be put off by the subplot involving the young kids being around or purchasing drugs in an effort to get Max's fathers drone back from the young girls they were spying on, others cannot help but appreciate the innocence behind the message the filmmakers drive home with the young kids trying to prevent the girls from taking the drugs. It can be argued that perhaps the main characters are depicted as being too young for the type of raunchy comedy the film carries, Although the film with all its intent and purposes to entertain, does nothing more than to present a fun comedic experience for audiences, while unintentionally giving audiences a mirror of what today's youth sounds like as well as their curiosities.

      In the end, Good Boys doesn't quite prove to be as successful as Superbad in terms of being an effective youth comedy aimed at a teenage audience. However, it still provides enough fun for the audience to be entertained, while making them invested in both the characters as well as the absurd yet charming nature of the plot. The young cast as well as their older counterparts make it tough for the audience to not have fun with the films premise along with appreciating the sentimentality of the story, even if leans towards being excessive at times. Despite the story carrying an adult nature to it, the humor never crosses the line of being grossed out or indefensible. While the language that the main characters throw out may be off putting to some adult viewers, the filmmakers succeed in making the audience care about the young kids, showing them just to be a curious trio, who are simply trying to do the right thing and are good-hearted. The young cast holds their own with their chemistry making the film what it is with steady directing from George Stupnitsky, who keeps both the camera as well as the film focused on them for full effect. It may not be everyone's cup of tea in regards to being funny at the end of the day, but it intends to give audiences a fun yet silly ride that carries both sentimentality and heart to it. If one views the film through those lens, they'll see that there's much to behold here with a fun comedy that's specifically aimed for both teens and young adults with themes that are relatable. The best compliment that can be given to the filmmakers regarding Good Boys is they not only generate decent laughs, but manage to make the audience recollect their own times as youths in middle school. If one enjoys raunchy comedies with a twist then Good Boys is a solid comedy work checking out as it has laughs, character development, and heart.

Final Verdict: For those looking for laughs with a surprise twist to the story, Good Boys is the film to check out.