Good Boys centers around about three young boys named Max, Lucas, and Thor as they figure out how to navigate the 6th grade. While doing so, they go through ups and downs of trying to keep their friendship together and create a name for themselves while going about their new adventures of middle school life. In the mix of their adventure they are tasked with figuring out how to kiss, a foreign aspect to their prepubescent lives. In my opinion, this movie had the potential to reach the highs of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid narrative in its tale of blunt adolescence.
I really liked this film and definitely thought it contained a lot of funny moments, as well as impressive cinematography and lighting. I think that, with Seth Rogan on board as one of the executive producers, this film got a needed jolt of dark humor that made Good Boys funny all the way through. However, this is definitely not a kid’s movie, as there’s way too much cursing and adult topics that kids likely shouldn’t know about.
In a perfect world, Good Boys should get an 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and every film critic review. It really is that great. I love how scene could have taken this movie into a dramatic direction, but instead it stayed comedic. The film even knew how to make its sad moments funny, a feat I’d love to learn how to do in my own films. The only moment that stood out was a low for the three boys that looked forced and, in my opinion, was uncalled for in the film. It was still a funny scene, although I felt it was trying to give off a pinch of sadness due to the boys’ refusal able to compromise with each other.
My favorite part of Good Boys was watching Max, Thor, and Lucas naively attempt to explain what adult items do and mispronounce certain words due to their adolescent age. One funny scene in particular shows Thor’s younger sister Annabelle knowing more sexual content than they do, and I enjoyed innuendos within her name. She definitely reminded me of the protagonist from the latest Annabelle movie. The film’s tone reminded me of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and later film adaptations, as it had the feel of a larger than life adventure through the mundane.
Even though the film was mostly about Max (Jacob Tremblay), all three boys had their own compelling story. Lucas (Keith L. Williams) did a great job in his role, blending funny and annoying behavior to produce the type of one friend you don’t know why you hold onto, only for them to do something that reminds you. Thor (Brady Noon), however, was my spirit child, offering a wonderful performance of the kind of kid I really wish I could have been when I was younger. Max might have been the group’s ring leader but, without Thor, he wouldn’t have grown up and matured throughout the film.
Besides the comedy, Good Boys is wonderfully directed, with DP Jonathan Furmanski expressing an impressive use of close ups, wide shot and pans to make each shot look great. Props to Gene Stupnitsky for his directorial debut and I’d have loved to see the bloopers from this film. The lighting of each scene just fits and there’s very few moments where it didn’t work. My favorite moment involves an interaction between the boys and girls perfectly frames their skin tones, something that’s hard to do with actors with darker skin. Yet it matched Keith L. Williams’ complexion and, in my opinion, was the best shot-scene of the film.
Verdict: 5 out of 5
It’s hard to find a film where everything works perfectly, and you find nothing wrong. Good Boys, for me, is one of those films. I’m going back for a second watch and would highly recommend anyone to see this in theaters, as its worth the money and time. I think everyone who worked on this film, especially the three lead actors, did a great job and hope that it receives a sequel.
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