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.
652 Reviews
Good
jstepp-7291928 December 2019
Does a good job showing that it is ok to be your self and to not let those around you affect your own train of thought or ambitions. With that being said...a lot of the funny parts were in the preview. I hate that! But acting, writing and directing were really good. I would watch it again.
Laughed so much
UncleKingpin17 August 2019
I haven't laughed so much watching a movie for some time now. This movie is good and I believe most of the reviews on IMBb are from the moral police of the society, I guess. Watch it and have some fun that's what it's made for.And people who think tweens don't behave like that, bad news for you all, they do behave like that.
Pint-sized SUPER BAD more or less
george.schmidt20 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
GOOD BOYS (2019) **1/2 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. Frequently funny foul-mouthed hi-jinks with tween best buds Tremblay, Williams and Noon attempting to get to a 'kissing party' with pitfalls including a destroyed drone, a cache of drugs and attempts of shoplifting beer. A mini-SUPERBAD at best thanks to Lee Isenberg and Gene Stupnitsky's screenplay (the latter directed) that manages the Apatow creed of hilarity and heart.
Life is about change or lets call it trial and error
Major_Fletcher4 January 2020
When growing up your interests will change from time to time. This is how it is and Good Boys tries to catch up some of such moments. I liked them a lot especially in the final part of the movie.
The main plot is about three boys invited to a party, but they have never kissed a girl. So how to prepare for party games like "spin the bottle"? Exactly. Use the internet or your father's drone to spy out the neighborhood haha ;) - This is where the fun begins. After some jokes and actions I really had to lough out loud.
When you watch the movie with your kids be prepared, there is a lot of swearing, talks about drug use, some more or less funny sexual innuendoes and little use of alcohol. But nothing really explicite. In our country the movie is rated "12", ok in my opinion.
So have fun watching but don't expect something really serious. Good Boys is a moderate comedy with some details about how you think, feel and (maybe?) act as a school kid.
Cheers Fletcher
The main plot is about three boys invited to a party, but they have never kissed a girl. So how to prepare for party games like "spin the bottle"? Exactly. Use the internet or your father's drone to spy out the neighborhood haha ;) - This is where the fun begins. After some jokes and actions I really had to lough out loud.
When you watch the movie with your kids be prepared, there is a lot of swearing, talks about drug use, some more or less funny sexual innuendoes and little use of alcohol. But nothing really explicite. In our country the movie is rated "12", ok in my opinion.
So have fun watching but don't expect something really serious. Good Boys is a moderate comedy with some details about how you think, feel and (maybe?) act as a school kid.
Cheers Fletcher
Easy to follow, sometimes hard to watch.
rickfletcher2817 August 2019
I felt like maybe they played it a little too safe. I was expecting more from the trailer, but instead they played it pretty safe considering what the premise was. A simple coming of age movie with some laughs along the way. Not bad, but not great. No where near what superbad was.
South Park turns real
awesomegav19 August 2019
Diary of a wimpy kid + Superbad
pawanpunjabithewriter28 November 2019
It's Diary of a wimpy kid + Superbad or if you are an Indian cinema fan, then it's the kiddo version of Phir Hera Pheri.
It's completely awesome. Extremely hilarious.
I laughed out loud at one scene, I won't like to mention. You'll find out by yourself. The three characters are as same as Raju, Babu bhaiya and Shyam of Phir Hera Pheri although just in 6th grade. The things they do are as same as them, and the results are no different. You would love this movie!
Meh. Amusing, but not amazing.
mikoyan-511044 April 2020
It's a coming of age comedy movie with - slight original twist - tweens. It's mostly good fun, but certainly not laugh out funny. However, it didn't make much sense, unlike the likes of the classic Superbad, the more recent Booksmart, or what not. Recommended for a very light evening.
I guess its eye of beholder stuff - because on paper this looked right up my alley
witster187 February 2020
I love coming of age, i love childhood adventure, AND I love raunchy comedy, but for me, this fell short.
It has some funny moments and lines, no doubt, but overall its an unfocused, sloppy mess of a story, with average execution both behind and in front of the camera. I wanted to love this.
I guess it was hard for me to balance the raunch with the naïveté that, as a viewer, I was expected to just be fine-with.
The storyline has so many meaningless and nonesensical moments, And the film is completely emotionless, even for the genre.
Superbad is a great comparision simply because ITs great, and imo, shows how to make a stupid storyline work. It does it with great characters, and keeping an emotional connection between them, and by bolstering it all with superb comedic performances. This film, in a nutshell, lacks 90% of that. It's not quite as disappointing for me in terms of 'boy i wanna see that because its up my alley' as say "Take Me Home Tonight", but it's disappointing nonetheless, and i could really care less about the raunchiness. While I didnt at all care about the raunchiness - I did take a little offense to the fact that the best meaningless storyline they could come up with for this otherwise genius plan to make a clever, younger demographic raunch comedy(which somebody needs to do right now), i DID take some offense with the fact they chose a storyline about the kids being around, purchasing, and flirting with death with illegal, lethal drugs. It was just like,"boy cant they come up with something better and still be raunchy, surely".
A late crying scene is another complete miss, and really ecapsulates why this all doesn't work, trying to mirror Superbad's strength, and failing in both impact and performance, miserably.
I've never said anything like this before, but I'll say it... I wish someone would throw ME 25million to get another crack at this and do it right.
I laughed 8-10 times at some funny lines - that's the best thing I can think of to say about this movie.
I wish we had the performances of Superbad, the naïveté and overall quality if "Dope", and I would have been fine with the raunchiness and lines to make it original and funny. All it is - is occasionally funny. A good overall film it is not.
It has some funny moments and lines, no doubt, but overall its an unfocused, sloppy mess of a story, with average execution both behind and in front of the camera. I wanted to love this.
I guess it was hard for me to balance the raunch with the naïveté that, as a viewer, I was expected to just be fine-with.
The storyline has so many meaningless and nonesensical moments, And the film is completely emotionless, even for the genre.
Superbad is a great comparision simply because ITs great, and imo, shows how to make a stupid storyline work. It does it with great characters, and keeping an emotional connection between them, and by bolstering it all with superb comedic performances. This film, in a nutshell, lacks 90% of that. It's not quite as disappointing for me in terms of 'boy i wanna see that because its up my alley' as say "Take Me Home Tonight", but it's disappointing nonetheless, and i could really care less about the raunchiness. While I didnt at all care about the raunchiness - I did take a little offense to the fact that the best meaningless storyline they could come up with for this otherwise genius plan to make a clever, younger demographic raunch comedy(which somebody needs to do right now), i DID take some offense with the fact they chose a storyline about the kids being around, purchasing, and flirting with death with illegal, lethal drugs. It was just like,"boy cant they come up with something better and still be raunchy, surely".
A late crying scene is another complete miss, and really ecapsulates why this all doesn't work, trying to mirror Superbad's strength, and failing in both impact and performance, miserably.
I've never said anything like this before, but I'll say it... I wish someone would throw ME 25million to get another crack at this and do it right.
I laughed 8-10 times at some funny lines - that's the best thing I can think of to say about this movie.
I wish we had the performances of Superbad, the naïveté and overall quality if "Dope", and I would have been fine with the raunchiness and lines to make it original and funny. All it is - is occasionally funny. A good overall film it is not.
Funny as hell. Don't believe the bad reviews
dussaultjulien24 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
There are some people on here complaining about the crude language and jokes, but honestly, what were you expecting? Some Politically Correct, dull and boring fluff piece? You're in the wrong movie.
I haven't seen a movie that made me laugh this much since We're the Miller's. There were very few times where I wasn't laughing in this movie, and yes the jokes and humor were crude, but who cares? Can we not use crude and rude humor anymore without people getting offended anymore?
If you live as such a sensitive person, you should just stay inside with bare walls and only your thoughts, because if you live like that, then you may as well not watch anything because it might offend you. Stop being so sensitive everybody and calm the frick down.
I haven't seen a movie that made me laugh this much since We're the Miller's. There were very few times where I wasn't laughing in this movie, and yes the jokes and humor were crude, but who cares? Can we not use crude and rude humor anymore without people getting offended anymore?
If you live as such a sensitive person, you should just stay inside with bare walls and only your thoughts, because if you live like that, then you may as well not watch anything because it might offend you. Stop being so sensitive everybody and calm the frick down.
A Solid Comedy. Good for Some Great Laughs.
kjproulx21 August 2019
Nowadays, good mainstream comedies are very hard to come by. It seems like fewer and fewer are released each year. Since the year 2000, I would argue that the last recent comedy that will go down as a classic was 2009s The Hangover. Yes, we have received great comedies like Bridesmaids, 21 Jump Street, and even Horrible Bosses to name a few, but none of those truly feel like they will be talked about by a wide audience in about 20 to 30 years. While Good Boys isn't worthy of that discussion either, I would absolutely say that it comes the closest out of any film that has come out this year.
Trying to make it to a party, Good Boys follows three young boys as they raunchily go about their day, discovering new things, cursing like crazy, being wrapped up in a stolen drug plot, and being chased by older girls. These kids find themselves in one ridiculous scenario after another, which makes for a very entertaining time at the movies. You don't go to movies like this hoping that it will be dramatically resonant with the audience, but it's always nice to see a comedy take the time to add that extra layer, and Good Boys definitely does that.
Jacob Tremblay has the most screentime here and he is fantastic as always. Since his appearance in the film Room, I have and will always continue to follow his career. He is a ridiculously talented young actor. Setting him aside for a minute, I would like to shed light on Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon who play his best friends, or how they refer to themselves, "The Bean Bag Boys." They have done work in television and film, but nothing that I ever recall seeing. With that said, there are multiple occasions where they steal the show and prove they're worthy of long-running careers in comedy as well, at least for now.
Now to comment/criticize the main type of comedy this film always goes for, which is the constant profanity, sex jokes, and adult-oriented humour. Good Boys is the type of film that feels like it's trying to capture the exact same vibe as Superbad, but replacing actual young adults with little kids. Personally, I found this aspect to be very effective, but the screenplay definitely took liberties in the fact that they have so much knowledge about certain things. I can see many viewers being turned off by the actions these characters take throughout the movie, but it worked for me, and let's be honest, it's just a movie.
In the end, I thought Good Boys was hilarious from start to finish. It takes the time to slow down for a few dramatic moments, but they almost feel forced at times, due to the fact that the movie is usually going for comedy 100% of the time until the third act. I think the fact that this movie tries to be like so many other teen comedies actually hurts it in the long run, since they're little kids, but when I was watching it, I really wasn't thinking about that. Good Boys is a really solid comedy that had me laughing throughout, but it's not without its issues. If you're simply looking for a good laugh, definitely check it out.
Trying to make it to a party, Good Boys follows three young boys as they raunchily go about their day, discovering new things, cursing like crazy, being wrapped up in a stolen drug plot, and being chased by older girls. These kids find themselves in one ridiculous scenario after another, which makes for a very entertaining time at the movies. You don't go to movies like this hoping that it will be dramatically resonant with the audience, but it's always nice to see a comedy take the time to add that extra layer, and Good Boys definitely does that.
Jacob Tremblay has the most screentime here and he is fantastic as always. Since his appearance in the film Room, I have and will always continue to follow his career. He is a ridiculously talented young actor. Setting him aside for a minute, I would like to shed light on Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon who play his best friends, or how they refer to themselves, "The Bean Bag Boys." They have done work in television and film, but nothing that I ever recall seeing. With that said, there are multiple occasions where they steal the show and prove they're worthy of long-running careers in comedy as well, at least for now.
Now to comment/criticize the main type of comedy this film always goes for, which is the constant profanity, sex jokes, and adult-oriented humour. Good Boys is the type of film that feels like it's trying to capture the exact same vibe as Superbad, but replacing actual young adults with little kids. Personally, I found this aspect to be very effective, but the screenplay definitely took liberties in the fact that they have so much knowledge about certain things. I can see many viewers being turned off by the actions these characters take throughout the movie, but it worked for me, and let's be honest, it's just a movie.
In the end, I thought Good Boys was hilarious from start to finish. It takes the time to slow down for a few dramatic moments, but they almost feel forced at times, due to the fact that the movie is usually going for comedy 100% of the time until the third act. I think the fact that this movie tries to be like so many other teen comedies actually hurts it in the long run, since they're little kids, but when I was watching it, I really wasn't thinking about that. Good Boys is a really solid comedy that had me laughing throughout, but it's not without its issues. If you're simply looking for a good laugh, definitely check it out.
POPCORN EMPIRE - Good Boys Review
nickrichardson-169196 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"Good Boys is sporadically funny, but it quickly falls apart due to lazy writing, wonky plotting and repetitive gags... 3/10"
Good Boys is a hard-R comedy directed by Gene Stupnitsky (Bad Teacher, Year One) and produced by Seth Rogen and company, responsible for films such as Superbad and Sausage Party. The film revolves around three 6th grade kids who are invited to a "kissing party". Since they have no idea what they're getting into, the three boys try to do some research and "practice" before the party. This quickly leads to trouble, and each attempt to fix things only digs them into a deeper whole. While the 3 leads have some decent chemistry, there's little they can do to support the thin material they're given to work with. Good Boys is sporadically funny, but it falls apart due to lazy writing, wonky plotting and repetitive gags.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
From the opening scene of the film, things seem off. The dialogue is bizarre and forced, especially from Max's father. He comes into Max's room and says he's proud of him for learning to "sexually himself". Yes, this really happens.
In the first act, we get to know Max, Lucas, and Thor. While all three young actors do a solid job with the material, it can't save the thin characterization or repetitive jokes. There's a gag early on where Max brings out his dad's "CPR" doll to practice kissing on, but it's actually a sex doll. Not much later, Thor brings out "weapons" from his parent's closet, but they turn out to actually be sex toys.
Many of the jokes follow this same copy-paste formula: The kids are presented with subject matter/objects that they misinterpret or misunderstand. The audience is more aware than the kids in most situations, so you could drop them into basically any scenario and the jokes practically write themselves. The film coasts along relying on the innocence and ignorance of kids as it's template for cheap punchlines, and it quickly grows tiresome despite an occasionally chuckle-worthy line.
Good Boys reaches for an overarching tone of sentimentality and innocence, tossing in various topics that are common in coming-of-age stories, but they don't amount to much. The film touches on heavy concepts such as divorce, bullying, and self-acceptance, but these concepts are never fully realized or explored. The emotional beats feel unearned and underwritten.
There's a sequence towards the middle where Lucas gets in a slapstick bike wreck and dislocates his shoulder. Afraid to go the hospital, Max and Thor decide to take matters into their own hands. There's multiple shots where Lucas's shoulder is clearly visible, and you can see that someone forgot to reattach the prosthetic prop-arm in between shots. Max and Thor decide to pull on Lucas's arm to fix it as he cries out in pain. As soon as his arm pops back into place, things go back to normal immediately, and Lucas sits upright and says "my parents are getting divorced". The scene changes from slapstick humor to childhood drama in a split second. This sequence is especially sloppy in its execution, with an abrupt, awkward tonal shift.
Comedy has different appeals for everyone, so you may get more out of this movie than me. That said, it's practically indefensible as being a great film. It plays things too safe, doesn't have enough ideas, and none of the emotional beats ring true. There are some funny moments sprinkled throughout (the action sequence involving a paintball gun is extremely entertaining) but mostly, you've seen all of this before in better films. If you haven't, it'd be much more worth your time to seek them out instead of sitting through Good Boys in your local theater.
3/10
Good Boys is a hard-R comedy directed by Gene Stupnitsky (Bad Teacher, Year One) and produced by Seth Rogen and company, responsible for films such as Superbad and Sausage Party. The film revolves around three 6th grade kids who are invited to a "kissing party". Since they have no idea what they're getting into, the three boys try to do some research and "practice" before the party. This quickly leads to trouble, and each attempt to fix things only digs them into a deeper whole. While the 3 leads have some decent chemistry, there's little they can do to support the thin material they're given to work with. Good Boys is sporadically funny, but it falls apart due to lazy writing, wonky plotting and repetitive gags.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
From the opening scene of the film, things seem off. The dialogue is bizarre and forced, especially from Max's father. He comes into Max's room and says he's proud of him for learning to "sexually himself". Yes, this really happens.
In the first act, we get to know Max, Lucas, and Thor. While all three young actors do a solid job with the material, it can't save the thin characterization or repetitive jokes. There's a gag early on where Max brings out his dad's "CPR" doll to practice kissing on, but it's actually a sex doll. Not much later, Thor brings out "weapons" from his parent's closet, but they turn out to actually be sex toys.
Many of the jokes follow this same copy-paste formula: The kids are presented with subject matter/objects that they misinterpret or misunderstand. The audience is more aware than the kids in most situations, so you could drop them into basically any scenario and the jokes practically write themselves. The film coasts along relying on the innocence and ignorance of kids as it's template for cheap punchlines, and it quickly grows tiresome despite an occasionally chuckle-worthy line.
Good Boys reaches for an overarching tone of sentimentality and innocence, tossing in various topics that are common in coming-of-age stories, but they don't amount to much. The film touches on heavy concepts such as divorce, bullying, and self-acceptance, but these concepts are never fully realized or explored. The emotional beats feel unearned and underwritten.
There's a sequence towards the middle where Lucas gets in a slapstick bike wreck and dislocates his shoulder. Afraid to go the hospital, Max and Thor decide to take matters into their own hands. There's multiple shots where Lucas's shoulder is clearly visible, and you can see that someone forgot to reattach the prosthetic prop-arm in between shots. Max and Thor decide to pull on Lucas's arm to fix it as he cries out in pain. As soon as his arm pops back into place, things go back to normal immediately, and Lucas sits upright and says "my parents are getting divorced". The scene changes from slapstick humor to childhood drama in a split second. This sequence is especially sloppy in its execution, with an abrupt, awkward tonal shift.
Comedy has different appeals for everyone, so you may get more out of this movie than me. That said, it's practically indefensible as being a great film. It plays things too safe, doesn't have enough ideas, and none of the emotional beats ring true. There are some funny moments sprinkled throughout (the action sequence involving a paintball gun is extremely entertaining) but mostly, you've seen all of this before in better films. If you haven't, it'd be much more worth your time to seek them out instead of sitting through Good Boys in your local theater.
3/10
Younger version of Superbad.
dar041721 August 2019
Haha kids swearing haha
j-a-mackenzie31 December 2019
Funny but Eratic
cpbushey30 April 2019
Not funny
phollyjunk20 November 2019
Funny but ads ruin best parts
stevechams18 August 2019
Hilarious!!!
xabrasionx19 August 2019
I was laughing from beginning to end!! Don't listen to the uptight naysayers. If you failed to watch the trailer and went to this movie expecting something other than a raunchy inappropriate film you're foolish! The naivety of the actors is what truly made the movie comical; so why bash the creators for using young actors to deliver?!? Relax, watch the movie for what it is, and fall out of your chair laughing!!
You feel me, dawg?
jfgibson734 February 2020
This movie put me in the mood to laugh, but then never really delivered. I liked the premise, the characters, and most of the dialog, but it didn't get me to laugh out loud. More of a "heh, that's funny" in my head. I did take some enjoyment from it as I kept waiting for things to kick into high gear, but by the end, I was like, that was fine. I'll give it a 6 for trying something on the braver side.
Terrible
jfaile-202-66739619 August 2019
This movie was awful and painfully unfunny. It's as if Seth Rogan and the writers thought that letting kids drop 300 F-bombs was comedy. Go rewatch Sixteen Candles, Goonies, Weird Science or even Superbad to see how these movies should be done.
People need to relax
rcoffey-7975921 August 2019
R??
ztigr21 August 2019
Okay the apparatuses used for a laugh or 2 probably don't belong in a PG movie, but mostly I found it pretty tame. I realize these are 6th grade boys, but it is not Animal House or Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Most of the language used would not be uncommon for a 6th grader to use. It has some laughs, but only a few laugh out loud moments. Entirely forgettable movie really, and one that you'll have a hard time remembering when you try to describe it to someone else. Lesser than the movies it tries to emulate. The young actors do well.
No clue who the target Audience might be.
benzed20 April 2020
I probably shouldn't call this a review given that I couldn't make it past 15 minutes.
It took me a while to view this. Didn't think it was for me. I found it intolerable.
Perhaps this is for 16-19 year olds. Small audience. Not for kids. Not for adults.
I found zero humor at all. I found it attempting to be edgy but it was just boring, humorless, too in your face.
Good Luck
It took me a while to view this. Didn't think it was for me. I found it intolerable.
Perhaps this is for 16-19 year olds. Small audience. Not for kids. Not for adults.
I found zero humor at all. I found it attempting to be edgy but it was just boring, humorless, too in your face.
Good Luck
Absolutely hilarious
nikhutchison1116 July 2019
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