Wow. It is genuinely surprising how Gene Stupnitsky directed a raunchy comedy revolving around three sixth-grade boys and actually made it a good movie. It shouldn’t work. It should be boycotted, banned, and forgotten. Thank God it won’t be.
First and foremost, for those who will worry about the appropriateness of this “tween” movie, you shouldn’t worry too much. The dichotomy between the middle schoolers’ innocence and the very adult world around them is exactly why this movie works. Not to mention, it’s not all drug bits and sex puns. Good Boys delivers some of the funniest jokes of the year along with an impactful story about growth and friendship and does it all with a cast too young to even understand most of the jokes. While it’s no shock Jacob Tremblay gives an outstanding and memorable performance, his co-stars, Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams, prove capable of keeping up with him within the first minutes. The rest of the cast is phenomenal too, making even the smallest (and stupidest) subplots just as intriguing as everything else. Each scene stands by itself as comedy gold (I cannot wait to rewatch these clips on YouTube), making Good Boys one of the most quotable and rewatchable films of the decade. In spite of its oh so many sex jokes, the overarching story of these boys learning to healthily grow up as they grow apart hit harder than expected. I did not anticipate wiping away an emotional tear because of a Seth Rogan-produced comedy.
Some of the jokes are borderline too far; that’s fair and expected in any comedy with Rogan’s fingerprints on it. Fair warning: there are many sex-toy jokes in this movie. They are all as horrible as they are hilarious. However, the pure absurdity of it all plays well into the film’s authenticity. Whether they admit it or not, I’m sure every grown man cackling in the theater sees himself in these boys and the cringey scenarios in which they find themselves. Half the time, it’s hard to remember if I was laughing at the movie or at myself.
As ridiculous as it sounds, Oscar-winning directors and writers could learn a lesson from Good Boys. Where it lacks in award-winning style and A-list casting, it redeems itself through its brutal honesty that works like brass-knuckles for every emotional punch throughout its runtime. Most creatives (and people in general) are far too worried to let the world see them for the weirdos we all are, but every few years, there comes a masterpiece of honest oddness. The result…a crowd-pleasing, ugly-laugh-inducing, side-splitting romp of a movie that will stick in your mind like paint on a frat-boy’s forehead (watch the movie to get that one). Sitting in a crowded theater, we were all laughing from start to finish. Time to time, you’re struggling to keep your eyes open – either because what’s on screen is too outrageous to watch, or because you’re too busy laughing and trying to maintain your bladder As we were exiting, everyone exchanged nods of agreement: that was worth the ticket. It’s simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. It’s shocking at every corner. Most of all, it’s fun. Overall, Good Boys gives you everything you wanted when you bought the ticket, and so much more.