As the “Good Boys”- Lucas (Keith L. Williams), Max (Jacob Tremblay) and Thor (Brady Noon) – ride their bikes along the street, fans Netflix’s “Stranger Things” will immediately see the references.
These sixth graders are however not as inquisitive as “Stranger Things’s” Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Will (Noah Schnapp). Rather, they are regular tweens trying to make their world an increasingly complicated world. They call themselves the ‘Bean Bad Boys.’ But as Game of Thrones Ygritte often said to Jon Snow, they ‘know nothing.’
The 89 minutes comedy is about one long, trying day and its aftermath. The coolest boy at school Soren (Izaac Wang) invites Max to his party. For Max it is the golden opportunity for him to meet and kiss Brixlee (Millie Davis). She is the girl of his dreams. But Max hasn’t got a clue about kissing. So, he calls on Lucas and Thor. They are equally novices. The trio decide to spy on Max’s teenage neighbour Hannah (Molly Gordon) and her boyfriend Benji (Josh Barclay Caras) hoping to learn a thing or two about kissing. In the process lose Max’s dads drone. Consequently, they must replace it or be grounded.
The premise of the film is a noteworthy. “Good Boys” is essentially about tweens approaching puberty, the crushes, peer pressure and everything else that comes with being a teenager. There is also the message about finding who you are and still holding onto relationships that matter whilst navigating the journey into adulthood.
Bullying is a prevalent problem amongst children. And “Good Boys” also explores. The idea of how kids are organising themselves to deal with bullying through anti-bullying groups such as SCAB is a big positive for the film.
Yet, it is dicey. Dicey because the three boys Tremblay, Williams and Noon truly hold the audience for the full duration of the movie. They put up an extremely hilarious performance. Seth Rogen is co-producer alongside Evan Goldberg, Lee Eisenberg and James Weaver. The comedic style has Rogen’s fingerprint all over it. At the same time, the film explores very adult themes – sex, drugs and alcohol. And for a movie about 12 year olds, there is a lot of profanity. The good thing though, is that despite the Max’s swearing, Eisenberg and director Gene Stupnitsky are cautious enough to make it clear that deep down, the boys are extremely naive.
“Good Boys” is rightly rated R. It is sensitive content and not for everyone.
