Equal parts laugh out loud moments and eye rolling humorless lines, the 2019 comedy “Good Boys” is a fun way to end the summer movie season.
Its youth centered cast and school age premise is like a typical 80s film mixed with present day technology and situations, and topped off with the crude jokes of “The Hangover” or “American Pie.”
The movie stars three child actors as the focus of the plot. Max, Lucas, and Thor have been best friends since kindergarten and now find themselves on the precipice of the dreaded sixth grade. We can watch and appreciate the friends as typical kids on the cusp of becoming teenagers, each with their own identity and genetic makeup making most of the decisions for them.
Max (Jacob Tremblay) is driven by his raging hormones, Thor (Brady Noon) will do anything to sit with the cool kids at lunch, and Lucas (Keith L Williams) is still clinging on to being a kid. The three actors are as capable as child actors can be, hysterical at times and poor as well. There are virtually no adults in starring roles, with college-aged girls Hannah and Lilly (Molly Gordon & Midori Francis) serving as antagonists for the outlandish plot.
Anyone watching can appreciate the characters and the changes going on in their lives. As a serious story, it would be a heart wrenching tale. In fact, one of the best facets is the ending which, while offering no spoilers, is bitter due to its realism.
The pitfalls of “Good Boys” is that it lacks focus and direction, seeming to go off the rails with absurd over the top scenes and blatantly slapstick antics. As mentioned before, it’s still funny, and if you’re looking to laugh its perfect. But unlike “The Hangover” there is no solid story tying it together. The kids are trying to attend a make out party at the home of the coolest kid in the class. They end up on an adventure that’s obscurely related. But, at 1:29 it’s never dry.
I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t burst out laughing numerous times. “Good Boys” is funny and plays out pretty much as one would expect it to. It won’t win any Academy Awards but you would be hard pressed not to watch it and enjoy yourselves.
