Good Boys (2019)

Directed by: Gene Stupnitsky | 90 minutes | comedy, adventure | Actors: Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Molly Gordon, Midori Francis, Izaac Wang, Millie Davis, Josh Caras, Will Forte, Mariessa Portelance, Lil Rel Howery, Retta, Michaela Watkins, Christian Darrel Scott, Macie Juiles, Chance Hurstfield, Enid-Raye Adams, Craig Haas

Sometimes there is a child star who displays so much talent that you hardly notice how young he or she really is. This applies, for example, to Jacob Tremblay, the young Canadian actor who made such an impression with his role in the oppressive drama ‘Room’ (2015). He was barely nine years old when he was showered with awards for his portrayal of the boy Jack, who is locked in a tiny room with his mother (Brie Larson, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in this film). He became the youngest actor ever to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, an award that is extra special because it is awarded by his colleagues in the field. Tremblay’s young age is evident from the anecdote that at the 2016 Oscar Gala he was thrilled when he came face to face with the characters R2-D2, C-3PO and BB-8 from the Star Wars series; incidentally, that youthful enthusiasm made for one of the highlights of the evening.

Since his big break, Tremblay has shown a multifaceted talent, with roles in drama (‘Wonder’ and ‘The Book of Henry’, both from 2017), horror/thriller (‘Shut In’ and ‘Before I Wake’, both from 2016) and science fiction (“The Predator,” 2018). With ‘Good Boys’ (2019) he ventures into unadulterated flat humor in the style of ‘Superbad’ (2007) and that is not surprising since Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are the producers of the film. Underpants fun, that’s what we expect and that’s what we get. Just because the three protagonists are still so young and naive, they somehow get away with it. Tremblay plays Max, a twelve-year-old boy who struggles with the vicissitudes that most of his peers struggle with: his first crush, insecurity, wanting to belong and the importance of friendships. Together with his best buddies Thor (Brady Noon) and Lucas (Keith L. Williams) he forms the Beanbag Boys (after their favorite hanging/seating furniture), although that sounds a lot cooler than it is. Max is secretly in love with his classmate Brixlee (Millie Davis) and is blown away when he is invited by the überpopular Soren (Izaac Wang) to a party where Brixlee is and where there will definitely be kisses. One problem: how do you actually do that? And so the boys steal Max’s father (Will Forte)’s drone to copy the trick from their much older girls next door. But what seemed like a brilliant move goes completely wrong and the boys get into a fight with not only the girls next door, but also a tired police officer, the busy commuter traffic around the city, a state-of-the-art inflatable doll and various sex toys from Thor’s parents’ collection. .

The screenplay is by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and the former is also making his directorial debut with this film. The gentlemen are best known as writers of “The Office US” and are therefore specialized in bland humor. But ‘Good Boys’ gets away with it strangely enough. Maybe the jokes are so over the top that it becomes funny again. Or it’s because of the three boys who plunge themselves into the action in a wonderfully naive and undaunted way. The level barely rises above the dildo wrestling and some running gags, but somehow it’s infectious. The young protagonists are fine, a little overacting is allowed in a film like this. To give them some more meat to the bones, a storyline was devised for both friends of Max: The hot-tempered Thor can sing great and dreams of playing in musicals, but he does not dare to sign up for the musical class because he is afraid to become the piss pole of the popular boys. The doting, good-natured Lucas isn’t really concerned with his popularity at all, but worries about the future now that his parents have informed him that they are getting a divorce. These storylines are not mentioned very extensively, but give just that extra layer to the characters.

The fact that these boys, barely twelve years old, get into such a mess simply makes for a very funny film, because on the one hand you recognize their insecurities, but on the other hand it is also quite alienating to see them wrestling with things they are much too young for. (and they then say about it themselves that they are way too young for it!). And despite that big mouth the boys have when the situation calls for it, they are also endearing and their friendship comes across as genuine. Oh yeah, also note the hilarious cameo from Stephen “The Office” Merchant. ‘Good Boys’ is a wonderful film for those who want to put their mind to zero and laugh unashamedly.