With Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg behind production, it’s perhaps unsurprisingly that Good Boys follows in cult hit Superbad’s footsteps; jam packed with outrageous jokes and vulgar language. While the premise appears to paint the film as just another lewd comedy, it’s the charming innocence and naivety of the pre-teen protagonists that gives Good Boys a surprising amount of heart.
The story follows childhood friends, Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams), and Thor (Brady Noon) at the beginning of middle school all with their own struggles but always facing everything together as: ‘the beanbag boys.’ Max is desperate to connect with his newfound crush Brixlee (Millie David), Lucas has been hit with the shocking news of his parents impending divorce, and Thor is attempting to salvage his reputation after an accident involving (or lack of involving) alcohol leaves him mockingly known as ‘sippy cup’ amongst his classmates.
Its Max’s calamity that fuels the film’s plot after being invited to his first kissing party causes panic because he has no idea how to kiss. He soon enlists Lucas and Thor’s help and they embark on a quest for knowledge. After a series of failures, including a curious google of internet porn that leaves the boys horrified, the decision to utilise Max’s dad’s coveted drone to spy on his teenage neighbours is made. The plan quickly goes horribly wrong resulting in the drone’s destruction and the beanbag boys consequently stumble into a series of misadventures involving a paintball frat house shootout, a game of chicken on a traffic filled highway, oh and of course, some mistakenly stolen drugs.
As previously mentioned, it’s the boys oblivious attitudes to the situations around them that craft much of the humour throughout Good Boys. From confidently stating the very incorrect purpose of a tampon, to reassuring that ‘molly isn’t with us’ when found unknowingly carrying their neighbours drugs, Jacob Tremblay delivers a fantastically crafty but sweet and goodhearted performance as Max.
However, Good Boys isn’t a story about one tweens plight, it’s about a friendship group and it’s Lucas and Thor that truly make the beanbag boys compelling. Lucas often acts as the gang’s moral compass while being responsible for some of the film’s funniest one liners (a quip about not wanting ‘a fox too fuck a squirrel’ being a particular highlight). While Thor’s quest for redemption is a plot point that creates opportunity for both laughs and emotion, from his hilarious attempt to steal a bottle of beer, to eventually embracing his passion for singing that he initially shrugged off due to peer pressure.
It’s this strong group dynamic and the universal feeling of the awkwardness that comes with the in-between stage of no longer being a kid but not quite a teenager that makes Good Boys more than just another shock value comedy. With a satisfyingly heartfelt ending that conveys the underlining message that, while relationships may drift apart over time, true friends will always be there for the big things in life. Ultimately, you won’t go into this film expecting groundbreaking cinema, nor will you get it, but Good Boys accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do in 90 minutes that will fly by.
