Movie review: ‘Good Boys’

FloridaGator80

I really enjoy R-rated comedy. From your great-but-basic efforts such as Tom Hanks in “Bachelor Party” (yes, he did raunch comedy, too – click here for my review) to your classics such as “National Lampoon’s Animal House” to more modern R-comedy classics including “American Pie,” “The Hangover” and “We’re the Millers.” So, today I’m taking a look at the newly released “Good Boys,” which is about three youngsters who go on what turns out to be an R-rated adventure to get to a PG-rated party. With just as much cursing as any Martin Scorsese flick, “Good Boys” gets notice for that, but, overall, the film isn’t anything to curse about! At best, it would just be a decent TV movie if you bleeped-out the F-bombs.

‘Good Boys’
(2019; 90 minutes; rated R; directed by Gene Stupnitsky and starring Jacob Tremblay, Keith R. Williams and Brady Noon)

A FEW LAUGHS ALMOST WORTH THE MEDIOCRITY

(NOTE: I expanded this review with the updating of links and the updating of the 2019 box office totals on March 21, 2020.)

Timing is always everything in entertainment (or sports) and “Good Boys” has great timing for some of its jokes. It’s just too bad that there are far too few striking the right chord at the right time to elevate this film onto the top-tier of R-rated comedy. Actually, it cannot even lift itself onto the second-tier. “Good Boys” isn’t really “good” … it’s more like, well … ah, in a glass-half-full world … mediocre.

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I can’t really put my finger on why “Good Boys” falls flat. The trio of co-stars do admirable work in the tough job of youngsters carrying a film, but none really manages to distinguish himself. Next, the supporting cast, with two exceptions, barely carries its own weight, much less supporting the headliners. Finally, from a foundation of decent comedic ideas, the filmmakers didn’t manage to take this beyond the level of pedestrian, stereotypical and the expected.

But, don’t worry, in place of creativity, the film has 13 listed as some sort of “producer.”

As for the story, you’ll find three friends on a trek to buy a destroyed drone that one’s father told him not to touch while he was away. During the adventure, they get involved with drugs, alcohol and the ultimate prize of being headed to a “kissing party” that’s threatened by the drone disaster. Along the less-than-yellow-brick-road, they also encounter a cop; drug-selling and drug-using frat boys; and the ongoing threat of two girls who want their drugs back.

OK, so the boys curse more than Martin Scorsese ever had Joe Pesci or Leonardo DiCaprio do in a film. Expected, but done in a competent way. After that, the use of the drone; a sex doll; sex toys; and all the rest just seem to … glide along and not really give you the fall-down funny boost you got in so many more R-rated comedies (just take the shower scene in “Porky’s” – click here for my review).

I’d say the best example of filmmaking falling flat is …

**SPOILER ALERT**

… when the drone is flown back into the house, it basically destroys everything in the living room. Way too over-the-top. What should have happened is something subtle, such as the one minor chip in a piece of crystal at the end of “Risky Business” when Tom Cruise’s parents came home.

Instead of creativity, first-time film director Gene Stupnitsky goes for the massive damage experience. Since his background is mostly for TV, I guess he had to fall back on what is most stereotypical. Well, at least for him and so many like him … typical.

Sigh.

What could have been, but, then again, Stupnitsky doesn’t have much of a distinguished record behind the camera despite a few episodes of “The Office” (and there he was listed second after his “Good Boys” co-writer Lee Eisenberg). Even as a “writer,” his best effort was the equally mediocre “Bad Teacher.” I’ll make sure I avoid his next effort … which, at the writing of this review, is producer and writer of “Bad Teacher 2” – well, no one ever accused Hollywood of rewarding the competent.

I guess the next “Hangover” or “We’re the Millers” is somewhere around the corner. Just certainly out of the reach of Stupnitsky, who appears to be better suited to TV, with his five nominations for Primetime Emmys.

Now it’s time for me to take a look at a small slice of the cast of “Good Boys.” Your lead players are …

  • … Jacob Tremblay as “Max.” He turns 13 next month and is the most obviously talented kid actor in this one. Tremblay’s the focus of the film and Tremblay shows why he’s going to be a great actor – despite how much I dislike such “cute kid” actors. He knows how to comport himself in front of the camera and, without ever overdoing it (a major plus in today’s shrill video world), manages to be “the kid” throughout the film. Still, Tremblay doesn’t manage to make a great statement with this one. He already has 31 acting credits including in “The Predator” and “Wonder” and of the 31, four are upcoming.
  • … Keith L. Williams as “Lucas” and he is the friend reluctant but ultimately willing to take part in the boys’ antics (cue another stereotype). Like the other two leads, Williams doesn’t distinguish himself, but you do want to see him again. Williams’ most competent scene is in a convenience store where he blurts out a confession to a police officer. Williams has a modest CV of 16 acting credits and has been on TV’s “The Goldbergs” and his first movie role was “Ruben” in “Lemon.”
  • … Brady Noon as “Thor” and he plays the boy with musical inclinations who has something to prove. He gets a humiliating nickname early and it sticks and, of course, is used a lever against him throughout the film. Noon does a good job, but the character is just so one-dimensional and arrives at a stereotypical ending. Noon is solid, but, like the others, doesn’t make any real mark here. Noon is in his first film with “Good Boys” after 30 episodes as “Tommy Darmody” on “Boardwalk Empire.”

As for the supporting cast, I didn’t believe I’d single out any one of them, but upon reflection, I must note that the two characters of conflict with the boys, Molly Gordon playing “Hannah” and Midori Francis playing “Lily,” do a decent job.

  • Gordon is smooth as the co-villain, yet she doesn’t manage to make “Hannah” anything special. However, just by being competent elevates the character (as does Francis) above the rest of the supporting cast. Since this is a young cast, it’s no surprise that Gordon has only 12 acting credits as of the original posting of this review and did an episode of “Orange Is the New Black.”
  • Francis, too, is smooth, but she does get the main part in one of the few creative scenes: She does a good “Terminator” imitation in trying to run down the boys. At least she was able to have a featured scene worthy of note. Francis had only 11 acting credits at the time of the original posting of this review and was in 2018’s “Ocean’s Eight.”

It will be nice to see how Gordon’s and Francis’ careers develop from here. Both appear able to do much better work than what they did with the less-than-competent scenes in this one.

So, there you have it. Nothing more or less than a mediocre R-rated comedy. The perfect analogy is how the boys cannot open the child-proof cap on the container of drugs … it’s an interesting joke if it had been done better, but it doesn’t work the way the filmmakers intended but I applaud the effort (since there you won’t find many more).

In the end, though, I’m glad I saw the film. It got me out of the house; it does have its moments; and it was cheap-ticket night at the Silverspot theater in my hometown. I guess in today’s world, you can’t ask for more than that.

Sigh again.

Oh, and expanding on a comment already written …

Just so a bunch of do-nothings get a check, this film has a great list of … well, people who got a check and obviously did nothing. The film has four “producers,” three “executive producers,” three “co-producers,” two “associate producers” and a lone “line producer.” I guess the budget ran out for paying a second or third “line producer.” And, so you wonder why creativity is at the bottom of most Hollywood lists?

The best example falls into the major dumbass department, with Seth Rogen, one of the four “producers,” reportedly having to shovel out a late mea culpa when a stand-in for Williams was a white kid in blackface. Ouch! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know before, not after, that that was really, really wrong. It is obvious that Rogen wasn’t around much other than to cash a check, or else he could have stopped it in the first place. But, no, he’s just there to give the crocodile tears after being called out. He certainly doesn’t appear to be doing first-hand producing of the movie since he only hauled out the apology after a photo of the kid in blackface was posted by an internet source.

As of the writing of this review, “Good Boys” was 27th at U.S. theaters with $70.2 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. I’d say that’s somewhat anemic for such a film, but then I’m prejudiced that R-rated comedy should always do better than it does. The No. 1 film was “Avengers: Endgame” with a somewhat better $858.3 million (that’s nearly $800 million more than “Good Boys”) and at No. 2 was the latest version of Disney’s “The Lion King” with $531.2 million. UPDATE: For 2019, “Good Boys” was 34th at U.S. theaters with $83.1 million in ticket sales. Here are the other films from 2019 that I’ve reviewed:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

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