By Jason Armstrong

Good Boys

Aug 23, 2019 | 10:55 PM

Sometimes, comedy isn’t pretty.

To prepare yourself mentally for the film ‘Good Boys’, you have to imagine what would happen if the wide-eyed innocence of a film like ‘Stand By Me’ collided with the raunchy comedy instincts of, say, ‘The 40-Year Old Virgin’. Or ‘Superbad’. Or the Judd Apatow project of your choice – and then, ask yourself if you’re ready for such an animal. In short, it’s nasty adult aspirations as seen through the eyes of restless sixth grade boys.

Dicey, huh?

I’d probably dismiss the whole thing if it – admittedly – wasn’t done so darn well. ‘Good Boys’, directed by Gene Stupnitsky (one of the prime minds behind TV’s ‘The Office’) with a production team that includes a guy named Seth Rogen (gee, go figure that SETH would somehow be involved with this), the project is riddled with inevitable concern. I mean, when you have a trio of 12 year-olds dropping F-bombs at leisure, there’s justification there. Yet, there’s also a whole lot of heart AND amazing comprehension of the behavior of tween rascals. It’s been almost four decades since I WAS one, but the memories still exist, and I…..with full apologies, Mom……can relate to these characters. Stupnitsky and crew capture this whole deal with amazing instinct and skill.

Here’s the synopsis; Screen Actor’s Guild Award nominee (thought I’d give the little guy a much deserved nod before delving into the grit) Jacob Tremblay plays the leader of the ‘Bean Bag Boys’, three social outcasts who are entering sixth grade at their Illinois elementary school, desperate to hang with the cool kids. Tremblay is the hopeless romantic of the group, furiously chasing a crush, whle Brady Noon is a would-be tough guy with a love of musical theatre, and Keith L. Williams rounding out the crew as the biggest of the bunch, though his hulking presence is eclipsed only by his tender nature. When Tremblay is invited to a ‘kissing party’, and permitted to have his pals in tow, it seems the Bean Bag Boys are on their way. Unfortunately, through a series of misadventures, they’re forced to skip school and attempt to replace an expensive drone to dodge being grounded – a journey that involves drugs, stolen beer, CPR dolls, heavy traffic – it’s chaos, I tell ya.

Believe it or not, there are some great moments here. Potty humor, sure. But any film that can balance filthy language with scenes of kids giggling as they ride their bikes through sprinklers and having real conversations about what friendship means GETS it. I’m sorry, but it’s awfully close to the truth. I totally realize this won’t be positive fodder for everyone, and I respect that. But I also have to tip my hat when film makers totally nail it, and this gang has.