There have been movies with the kind of material you’ll see in “Good Boys”, it’s just never been done with our main characters in their tweens, and it’s this film’s decision to keep it’s young cast naive and for the most good- hearted that makes it a fun story.
Max, Thor, and Lucas (Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon, and Keith L. Williams) are six graders that have just been invited to their first “kissing party” with no knowledge of how to actually kiss a girl. Together, they’ll get into a world of trouble involving drugs, sex toys, near death experiences, in their journey to learn and not look out of place with the other cool kids.
And yeah, it works.
This isn’t “American Pie” or “Superbad” and it’s not trying to be. These kids don’t enjoy learning to kiss or sipping on beers (4 sips is considered a “rager”), they just want to fit in and stay together. They’re actually good boys.
Director Gene Stupnitsky keeps the laughs coming and the film’s 95 minutes goes by quickly. The jokes will at they’re worst make you crack a smile or have you rolling in your seats altogether.
There is a ceiling to this kind of story. You’ll see the ending coming from a mile away, and the stakes aren’t very high, so you’re not going to get “Dances with Wolves” here. If you keep yourself grounded (and if you’ve seen the marketing you will), then you’ll be fine.
“Good Boys” aims low and hits its mark.
GRADE: B-
Rated: R
Running time: 95 minutes
