As an adult, it’s often difficult to remember how much life there is ahead of you. As a middle schooler, it’s nearly impossible. It constantly feels like you’re stuck in a perpetual cycle of awkwardness, confusion, frustration, and self-doubt. You also assume that everything is going to be the same from that moment on for the rest of your life, that you’ll have the same exact friends, the same interests, meet your middle-to-high-school sweetheart, marry them, and spend the rest of your lives together. “Good Boys” – the latest film from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s comedy factory of raunchy-sweet crowd-pleasers – is here to serve as a reminder to everyone – not just adolescents – that your current situation is never finite.
Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams), and Thor (Brady Noon) – or “The Bean Bag Boys,” as they refer themselves – have just entered that seventh layer of hell known as sixth grade. Max has women on the brain, crushing on his classmate Brixlee (Millie Davis) and changing his World of Warcraft troll into a buxom beauty. Lucas’ parents (Lil Rel Howery and Retta) are in the midst of getting a divorce, and Thor is a talented singer who considers giving it up because other students would find it lame. The three of them are invited to a “kissing party” by one of the “cool kids” in school, which scares them into trying to learn how to kiss, trying everything from practicing on a CPR doll, watching porn, or flying a drone over someone’s house to try and sneak a peek over how it’s done.
“Good Boys” is essentially “Baby’s First ‘Dazed & Confused,’” taking place largely over the course of one day. A large section of the film involves the aforementioned house they spied on, involving two teenage girls (Molly Gordon and Midori Francis) who accost the drone, leading Thor to take one of their bags as leverage. Unbeknownst to them, the bag contains a medicine bottle full of molly (prompting a hilarious recurring gag in which Max cannot open the child lock on the bottles). The communication breakdown between “The Bean Bag Boys” and the girls quickly becomes exhausting and shrill, detouring the film into laborious chase sequences that feel more like runtime padding than an organic progression.
The novelty of kids swearing and jokes at the expense of their lack of knowledge (specifically with sex toys) also wears off after a while. But about midway through the film – starting with a very funny sequence involving a fraternity house and a paintball fight – “Good Boys” starts to settle into a groove. Once director Gene Stupnitsky – along with his co-writer Lee Eisenberg – start to reveal what the film is really about – how things will change, people will change, but you can spread your wings and forge your own path without having to leave behind the people you love – it really starts to drive home the friendship between the three leads, and coasts to the end on the easy chemistry between the three of them and the believability in their friendship. It’s often said how difficult it is to get good performances out of child actors, and while it seems more like they had fun in the first half of the film, those seeds were planted early on and they carry it on strong to the finish line.
Along with the recently-released “Blockers,” it’s truly remarkable to see these comedies that Rogen and Goldberg are shepherding that are populated equally by women, people of color, and LGBTQ characters. It’s done so effortlessly, not making a grand statement about it, but acknowledging people from all walks of life. There’s a funny and truly sweet recurring gag about consent, and how the boys – from the actual kissing party to attempting to practice on the CPR doll – will not act in any way without the consent from women. Additionally, there’s a gag involving a group called SCAB (Student Coalition Against Bullying), and while it is played for a bit of an embarrassing punchline for our three leads, the film doubles back around to find that organization and their message worthwhile. If it wasn’t so R-rated raunchy, this would be required viewing in every single sixth grade class across the country. To that end though, it is a little peculiar as to who the audience for “Good Boys” is exactly. It’s too vulgar for kids who are the age of the film’s characters, and while an adult audience will likely find much to admire and potentially even teach their kids, some of the film’s more sophomoric elements could get a little grating.
Regardless who the film is for, it’s nice that a movie like “Good Boys” exists. Despite that fact that most parents would not let their kids watch it until at least age 13, the film is a much more accurate depiction of the early middle school experience than any given live-action Nickelodeon kids movie. Despite substantial chunks of forced humor, “Good Boys” ultimately wins you over with the undeniable rapport between these talented young actors and a naturally sweet message that life will always be in flux, and that it’s okay to accept the change. [B-]