Good Boys

Produced by Seth Rogen's band of merry men, this vulgar comedy is basically Superbad but with a trio of pre-pubescent boys instead of high schoolers. It's cheap, crude and not particularly clever, but also, at times, bloody hilarious. There's a simple formula for laughs here: three best friends who have just started Middle School (Year 6) embark on a series of adventures thinking they're ready for all the important adult stuff in life like kissing, sipping beer and swearing like convicted felons. Adopting a quantity-over-quality approach to humour, the gags come thick and fast. Inadvertent operation of sex toys, a frat house brawl, an inappropriate Rock of Ages concert, a too-soon experience with porn - everything is thrown at the screen in pursuit of a laugh. Although I wouldn't go as far to say the script is intelligent or original, there are some wittier, more subtle moments of amusement that rely on genuine comedic timing (misused vocab, social unacceptable behaviour) from the youthful leads, and they largely pull it off. Child actors are often hit or miss, skirting a fine line between endearingly precocious and unbearably irritating; however, the headlining trio here land on the right side of childish. They think they know it all of course but are still most definitely "social piranhas." Make no mistake, the creators of Good Boys employ a simple and crass method to generate comedy. They succeeded.

For many comedies, the trailers tend to give away most of the funny scenes. Thankfully this doesn't apply for Good Boys. Going into the film I didn't expect much but the humor is constant, all the child actors give amazing performances, and there are multiple story threads that came together nicely. My biggest concerns were cringing at the kid actors and a weak plot but both didn't disappoint. The three main leads were hysterical and their character development came to a satisfying conclusion at the end. There were a surprisingly decent amount interesting plot points. Most moviegoers tend to not focus on a comedy films story but here it doesn't lessen the humor or slow the movie down at all. While their are many over the top comedic scenes, it is balanced with its well thoughtout story.

I can see that most of the bad reviews target the "normalisation" of such an "outrageous" teen behaviour; I understand why it can be debatable, but this is a comedy and gives a comedic spin to a subject that (weather parents like it or not) all teens are experiencing: awkward curiosity and transition to sexual/romantic/gender interest. And, an important aspect: it is clearly advertised for 15+ audience.

Yes, it was cliche; it didn't present any innovative screenplay, some jokes were obviously hyperbolised, but: it was actually a hilarious film. The comedic experience and overall journey throughout the movie was well written; the acting was good; the bond between the 3 bin bags members was quite well portrayed. I like that it carried also a message about friendship; the cast was well selected and diverse; the main characters were actually very strongly individualised which I think gave a big plus to the "glue" of the story. Overall I would recommended for a fun trip to the cinema, but definatelly not a movie for a more conservative taste in comedies.

I was not prepared to enjoy this movie this much. I was dying laughing. It was was more sweet than I was expecting. It definitely has some mature content, but it's actually a great moving with a sweet message. And HILARIOUS!

You can't go into this movie taking it seriously cause it doesn't take itself seriously. It's 90 minutes of dumb fun and that's it.