I have been in Montreal for the better part of the summer and, for one reason or another, “Good Boys” was not screened for the press here. So, after surprisingly topping the box-office for two straight weekends, I figured that I probably needed to watch this R-rated movie about potty-mouthed tweens.
And so, armored with a trailer which promised fresh and incisively nasty comedic moments, “Good Boys” actually turned out to be everything it was supposed to hate. Yes, the big problem with the Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-produced hit is that its R rating doesn’t result in a good time, but rather has none of the things being promised in the trailer. There is barely any risk-taking to the story, which revolves around three 6th grade boys ditching school and embarking on a 24-hour journey.
Invited to his first kissing party, 12-year-old Max (Jacob Tremblay) decides to bring best friends Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon) along for the ride, but first, they need to properly educate themselves on how to kiss girls. When they hit a dead end in their research, Max decides to use his father’s precious drone to spy on teenage girls next door – maybe they will be kissing their boyfriends and a thing or two could be learned from the experience of watching them. Eventually, the plan is botched and the drone is taken hostage by the girls. Max and the gang try to figure out a plan to retrieve it before his dad can figure out what happened.
While accidentally carrying stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited “kissing” party, the three boys are thrust into a familiar world which we’ve all seen before in better movies, specifically “Superbad,” which seems to have now started a trend of retreads being released every year — this past May we got Olivia Wilde’s female version take on the movie classic titled “Booksmart.”
“Good Boys” director Gene Stupnitsky’s uninspired direction also doesn’t help the surroundings. His lack of awareness for proper framing does deter the movie’s narrative further into none-too-interesting territory. Stupnitsky’s lack of talents for visuals is only outranked by his misguided thinking that having child actors uttering obscenities and being utterly naive about sex will make for a funny movie (and maybe it can be in more talented hands), but “Good Boys” isn’t it. For all its attempted intent in being edgy, “Good Boys” doesn’t come close to being “Superbad,” even if it desperately wants to be.
Goldberg and Rogen have done have done this before; their 2014 R-rated animated comedy “Sausage Party” had a successful trailer, promising a devilish good time only to end up being, much like “Good Boys,” a rather one-note and corny exercise in conventional storytelling. Despite its trailer’s promises, there is no edge whatsoever to be found in this movie. [C]