Who's a Good Boy?

The "teen comedy" is a pretty well-worn movie genre. They're generally profane, often revolve around getting laid, usually include a gross-out scene or two... and can be pretty funny when done right. The formula gets refreshed every few years when something comes along to push at the boundaries of taste from some new angle.

For the movie Good Boys, that angle is to turn the teen movie into a pre-teen movie. The three kids at the core of this story are sixth graders. Accordingly, the movie does make a few substitutions in the formula; one of the boys is chasing a kiss, and being caught by parents is more intimidating than embarrassing. There's no "friend with a car"; all they have are their bikes.

But it is an R-rated movie, and it works best in the moments where it doesn't alter the time-tested formula. I'm not just talking about the foul language, the run-ins with drugs or the cops, or the gross-out injuries -- not it and of itself. The movie is funny (funnier than you might think) when it actually lets the kids be kids as they try hard to punch above their weight in more adult situations. Surprisingly, the movie actually manages to have a heart too, running a soft touch coming-of-age story that's more than just a framework to hold the jokes.

If that isn't enough to sell you, then there's really nothing else I'd try. It's otherwise very familiar. There's stuff cribbed from American Pie, like the kid who's secretly into singing when he knows it's not cool. There's stuff cribbed from cleaner teen comedies too, like the Ferris Bueller's Day Off-style prized position of Dad's that the kids steal. But somehow it's different enough when it's done with 12-year-olds.

They're particularly well cast kids too. Jacob Tremblay is the most well-established, bursting onto the scene in Room and working steadily ever since. He's paired with Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon, who definitely have solid comic timing. The three together have a great rapport. There are also several funny adults that pop in and out to lend a helping hand, including Will Forte, Retta, Lil Rel Howery, and Stephen Merchant.

It's likely my reaction to the movie was juiced by expectations both low and perfectly calibrated at the same time: I was just looking for 90 minutes of fluff to sort of zone out to, but I didn't know that I expected the movie to be all that funny. I got a pleasant surprise. If you're into this kind of movie, I'd say Good Boys is better than most -- a B+.