‘Good Boys’ was almost as good as it seemed

So… funny story for you all. Recently, whenever I’ve gone to see movies, I’ve gone with a British friend of mine named Nic. When we went to see “Midsommar,” the Ari Aster directed film about American college students visiting a Pagan village, the trailer for “Good Boys” played before it. The second after we saw it, we both decided that we had to see the film, because, well, we both thought it looked hilarious. So after seeing the film twice, going in with high expectations given the generally positive response, is the film worth seeing?

I’d say so. I will admit, however, this is one of those movies where the trailer is better than the movie. In other words, if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen a lot of the best jokes.

That’s not to say that there isn’t still plenty to admire. If I were to describe the film, I would probably say it was somewhere in between “South Park” and Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade,” especially the latter, with the two sharing themes of growing up and moving on during those awkward, transitional tween years. The comedy and the heart of the film come from that premise, and while many of those jokes are cute and chuckle-worthy, I found I enjoyed the movie the more ridiculous and raunchy and South Park- esque it got. Moments like these include a scene towards the end involving drug dealers and a paintball gun, which is just as ridiculous and hilarious as it sounds.

 The child actors playing the three boys (Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon) aren’t always amazing, but given that this film is going for a certain level of intentional awkwardness in its humour, it’s excusable.

On the whole, I endorse this film. It’s very funny, has a decent heart, some great scenes, and a lot of laughs — even if a lot of the better ones were in the trailer. Overall, I’d give it a strong 7/10 and a solid recommendation.