Good Boys

In the past couple of years, raunchy R rated comedies have started to skewer the ages of their main protagonists from normal adults in midlife crisis to students of various stages in their respective schools. It's also become more difficult for those newer entries to standout when wrinkles in the predictable "We must go to this even so that we can cross the threshold of growing up" formula is hard to ignore. Something like Booksmart managed to avoid some of that staleness within that genre. This brings us to a newcomer to that area with Good Boys, a new project produced by Seth Rogen. When the marketing popped up for it, it appeared to be a goofy time with these 12 year old preteens but that would also need to force the writers to be creative with the limitations here. In a summer season that struggled to bring in good consistent laughs, this seemed to be the beacon of hope I relied on to bring in effort to liven things up. I went into the auditorium ready to see if it can bring it and left it having had a fun time with this entertaining but flawed comedy.

What's it about? The story follows a best friend group of 12 year old preteens as they endure a series of shenanigans on their way to a popular kids party in order to learn how to kiss. It's an interesting take on the situation as they manage to craft predictably formulaic but entertaining romp that relies naivety of these kids entering a new phase of maturity. They unintentionally cause troubles to their surrounding due to how oblivious to being socially competent to the world around them, which isn't afraid to be brutally honest with how clueless they are. It's hilarious to see the adults not afraid to speak their minds to them in either annoyance or frustration in responding to the boys antics.

It's a raunchy comedy to a fault, which leads to unintended problems in the script. There's a portion of the jokes that rely on sex toys, which can get hit or miss after being using in humor longer than necessary. The third act also rushes the resolution a bit with the type of message it was leaning towards that could have used more time to flesh out. Thankfully the short runtime knows when to end things before the stale nature of the predictable formula overstays its welcome.

How are the main actors? In regards to our main actor trio of young actors, their combined might is enough to carry this hilarious adventure well in their delightful chemistry. They all bring something unique to the group to be able to standout personality-wise while all being equally clueless as the other. The combination of Jacob Tremblay's relatable shyness portrayal, Keith L Williams devoted honesty, and Brady Noon's display ambitious yet vulnerability to peer pressure all provide endearing performances in their own right. Honorable mentions go to Lil Red Howery, Will Forte, and Sam Richardson for their standout moments despite their limited screen time.

Overall Consensus: Good Boys doesn't hide its predictable narrative and minor joke issues but the strengths of its main actors performances, funny gags, and empathy for the coming of age angle more than make up for it. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🎟* Runtime: 1 hour 29 minutes R
*Only with a group of friends for a crowd experience, otherwise 💻

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You enjoy R rated raunchy comedies and don't mind sex toys being slightly overused in humor. You don't mind predicable coming of age premises around going to a party. You are looking for a nice laid-back laughs with a group of friends or in a crowded room.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You dislike R rated raunchy comedies. You are bored with predicable coming of age premises around going to a party.