Fans of the film, SUPERBAD, will find a lot to like with the film, GOOD BOYS. The pint-sized riff on the 2007 film is neither a remake nor a reboot of the older film but it does share similar themes and situations. Perhaps that would explain why Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who co-wrote SUPERBAD, decided to produce this coming-of-age pre-teen story.

Twelve-year-olds Max (Jacob Tremblay, WONDER; ROOM), Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon, TV’s BOARDWALK EMPIRE) have been inseparable forever but their bubble of innocence is starting to burst. Their 6th grade class is forming cliques, separating the cool kids from the not-so-cool ones. Meanwhile, with their adolescent hormones kicking in, they are discovering girls, putting even more pressure on how they want to spend their time and who they want to spend it with. When the boys get invited to a classmate’s house party, Max sees it as an opportunity to kiss Brixlee (Millie Davis, WONDER) but he’s never kissed a girl before. That dilemma sends the boys on a wild adventure involving drones, drugs, sex toys, stolen beer, teenage girls, frat boys and the police to learn proper kissing before the party. Along the way, the boys learn a lot about themselves and each other.

As one would expect with a Seth Rogen movie, GOOD BOYS is very raunchy with the boys dropping F-bombs at every opportunity. Even the trailer jokes that while the young actors can say that word, they aren’t old enough to legally watch themselves saying it. But it’s also a riot as the kids discover Internet porn, naively misidentify their parents’ sex toys and try to be more worldly than they really are. At its core, GOOD BOYS is a surprisingly sweet story about growing up and starting to realise that you and your best friends are moving onto different paths.

GOOD BOYS is the directorial debut for Gene Stupnitsky, who also co-wrote the script with Lee Eisenberg, his former writing pal on BAD TEACHER and TV’s THE OFFICE (US version). The duo deftly walk a tightrope to deliver a humorous story about that brief moment in time when kids are still kids but are just becoming aware of the grown up world around them. All the young actors put in earnest performances leaving audiences wondering how much they knew before they were cast and how much they learned on set. The best of the three is Williams who shows a talent for comedic timing that’s beyond his years.

Cursing aside, GOOD BOYS is a fun story with a huge heart. If you’re looking for a good laugh (and boy, do we need to laugh here in Hong Kong right now), this film is highly recommended.

Watch the review recorded on Facebook Live on Friday, September 6th, 8:30 am HK time!

Don’t be a lurker! If you liked what you just read, here are some suggestions: