GOOD BOYS

US, 2019, 90 minutes, Colour.
Jacob Tremblay, Keith L.Williams, Brady Noon, Molly Gordon, Midori Francis, Izaac Wang, Millie Davis, Will Forte, Stephen Merchant.
Directed by Gene Stupnitzky.


With a title like that, it is a fair guess to say that the boys of the title will not be good. In fact, they would like to be, at least for their age, moving towards super bad!

The three boys are 11, moving towards 12, in their last year at Junior School. There is Max, rather diminutive, played by Jacob Tremblay who was so good in Room and Wonder. There is Lucas, a large and tall African-American? friend (Keith L.Williams). And there is Thor, a bit full of himself but also quite insecure, rather hard to like, (Brady Noon).

There is a great deal of innocence about these boys which they are not quite aware of, except, perhaps, for Lucas who has absorbed a great number of principles and is prone to speak out the truth even if the occasion is very awkward for his friends. But, of course, a lot of innocence is based on ignorance and, combined with naivete, the boys want to be bad, at least their interpretation of bad. They can swear a lot – and they do. They aware of sex, drugs, alcohol – but, how extraordinarily ignorantly innocent on all these topics.

Of course, there are others around who have transcended innocence and ignorance and lead the good boys into an unwitting temptation.

However, during the course of the day, Max is persuaded to take his father’s drone, prized by his father and not allowed to be touched, especially by Max, and disaster ensues. So, everything that could go wrong, does go wrong – and, Max is persuaded to go on with his quest to recover the drone so that he can get to a party which is described as a kissing party because a young girl will be there and he has his eye on her (well, not exactly because he is continually looking away, awkwardly) and he would love to kiss her.

So, the film is a blend of adventures and accidents, ignorance and naivete, rudeness and innocence, facing parents, an issue of divorce, the boys having to try to do drug deals, stand-offs with teenage girls, and trying to get the drone back to its place in the house (which as it turns out, destructively).

But, we hope that these boys will learn from their misadventures and a certain innate goodness will emerge. Seth Rogan is one of those involved in production (memories of Superbad and his other raucous comedies), and the film has a trailer where Rogan is interviewing the three boys to explain to them that the classification means, especially because of the swearing, they would not be admitted to see their own film.

So, a comic mixture of ignorance and innocence, with added naivete.

1. The title and tone? Expectations? The young cast?

2. The American city, homes and streets, drugs, parties, the highways? The supermarket? The musical score?

3. The boys and their age, the last year of junior school, their attitude, wanting to be bad, showing off?

4. Issues of ignorance and innocence? Naivete?

5. Each boy and his family, Max and his father, the use of the drone? Thor and his mother and sister? Lucas and his benign parents and the discussions about the divorce?

6. The day of action? The boys, the bullying and taunts, the beer drinking…? The senior girls? The peer expectations?

7. The drone, taking it, the search, the use, the crash? Wanting to buy a new one? The issue of money? The quest? The girls, the drugs? The money? The interactions with the girls and the pursuit?

8. The girls, the characters, the drugs, their friends, driving, the boys on bikes? The girls tricking them?

9. The boys, the episode with the dealers, the adult dealers, the effect?

10. The life-sized doll? The comic section with Stephen Merchant and the bargaining? The boys and the difficulties of crossing the freeway, the crash and destroying the doll?

11. Max, his age, short, wanting to kiss the girl, not game to look at her? The advice from his friend? The kissing party as the goal for the day?

12. Thor, his ability to sing, the boys slinging off at him, his backing down, denial? His obnoxious behaviour?

13. Lucas, more genial, his principles, blurting out the truth?

14. The mixture of badness and ignorance? The issues of pornography, the making of babies, drugs, drinking beer and sips?

15. Going home, getting the drone, its smashing the house, Max’s father’s reaction? His getting out for the party, not telling anyone about Thor? Lucas and his help? The spin the bottle, the kiss? The boys having to grow up, the beanbag group, moving into more mature friendships, accepting changes?

16. Max, his range of girlfriends, Thor and his ability to sing and the approval of his teacher, Lucas and his joining the squad to protect victims?