Good Boys

Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Molly Gordon, Midori Francis, Izaac Wang, Millie Davis, Will Forte, Lil Rel Howery, Stephen Merchant
Directed by: Gene Stupnitsky
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Rating: R
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three 6th graders skip school, end up carrying illegal drugs, and must navigate a crazy day to attend a party.

Review:

Tim: "Let's make an R-rated movie about 6th graders." I'm not sure who first came up with that idea, but it's brilliant. You have to give Gene Stupnitsky a ton of credit (as writer and director) for the most unlikely R-rated comedy of the year. I have to admit, hearing too-young kids speaking too-mature language is utterly hilarious. I had a blast with this movie. It has some shortcomings, but it's still a humorous, entertaining film. It's wrong on multiple levels, but it's absolutely worth checking out.

Seeing sixth graders utter F-bombs and a wide variety of other profanity is truly hilarious. I couldn't get over that fact. Most of the film's funniest moments involves these kids saying very grown-up things. That might not result in a classic comedy or even be all that intelligent, but it's effective. I did laugh routinely at things i know I shouldn't have. Now, outside of this, the comedy doesn't really live up to the hype. The script is fine, but the jokes are often hit-or-miss. The movie spent far too much time on sex doll jokes (and other toys) that really wasn't all that funny. Some of the recurring jokes were below average, which felt like a misstep. Most of the funniest scenes involve individual dialogue that makes you laugh. The story itself is a bit predictable and somewhat generic. That prevents the film from being as effective as it could be. That doesn't mean this isn't a worthwhile comedy- it absolutely is. I just wish there was more consistent humor throughout the film.

I have to give Jacob Tremblay a ton of credit. He's such an impressive young man and gave an excellent performance here. He was so believable in this role- he has this wonderful authenticity about him. Tremblay delivers the film's best line- "F*$# that b*#@$" and his voice cracks as he delivers it. It's one of the funniest moments in any film I've seen in recent memory. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance- he's the star of the film. Keith L. Williams was good, but his performance felt closer to what you would expect from a younger actor. He's good, but he does tend to go over-the-top and loses some of the believability with forced lines. Still, he's effective. Brady Noon felt like the most cliched character, but he did really solid work as well. It was genuinely entertaining seeing these three together. They felt authentically like friends and it appeared as if they had a ton of fun together. That was contagious and the audience responds to their energy.

In the supporting cast, Molly Gordon gave an excellent performance. I've been impressed with her and think she'll have a long career ahead of her. She was believable and likable in this role. Midori Francis wasn't as good, but she worked well, too. Izaac Wang did some great things in a small role. I enjoyed seeing Will Forte here, Lil Rel Howery added a nice performance, and Stephen Merchant added a terrific supporting performance. As a whole, the cast of this film was very good.

Although the story might not have been as good or original as one would hope, this is still an entertaining movie. It was a bit risque, but it paid off in spades. I had a lot of fun with this movie. Stupnitsky is someone to watch- it didn't surprise me that this was his feature film directorial debut (he did direct some episodes of "The Office"). It felt like his inexperience probably limited this movie to some extent. However, it's still an impressive debut and I'll be curious to see what he does next. Good Boys has its flaws, but it's a memorable, worthwhile comedy and a movie I had a lot of fun watching.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7


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