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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Good Boys (2019)

One of the kids at the center of the new comedy Good Boys confidently tells his two best friends, “It’s a tampon. Girls shove it up their butts to stop babies from coming out.” The object in question is indeed a tampon, they got that part right. But, of course, they really have no idea what they are talking about.

Scenarios like this one are at the center of the humor in this low-brow but sweet-intentioned R-rated comedy that preys upon the naiveté of kids and what they think they know about the world in front of them. Max follows up his brave proclamation by citing the source of his worldly knowledge. “An eighth grader told me that.”

"it should be no surprise that raunch and drug-related shenanigans will be major themes for what lies ahead"


As you might have guessed, the boys are approaching one of life’s most awkward stages of growth: the period of pre-adolescence, where every conversation eventually turns to either penises or breasts, and interest in the opposite sex begins to rear its ugly head.

Max (Jacob Tremblay, Room, Wonder), Lucas (Keith L. Williams, TV’s Last Man on Earth), and Thor (Brady Noon, TV’s Boardwalk Empire) are best friends and are only a few weeks into the sixth grade. The trio, who call themselves “The Beanbag Boys” do everything together. When they receive an invitation to a “kissing party” it’s up to them to learn as much as they can to uphold their reputation amongst the kids at school. Neither of the boys has as much riding on the party as does Max who wants nothing more than to get the attention his crush, Brixlee (Millie Davis, Wonder). {googleads}

As the dreaded anticipation of the approaching party looms, it soon dawns on the boys that they know nothing about kissing, and even less about how to research it as an errant browser search sends them to pornhub where not much kissing takes place. So they hatch a plan to spy on his teenage next door neighbor Hannah (Molly Gordon, Book Smart), who must be a kissing expert. After all, she’s a teenager, right? But what follows is a series of hilarious disasters, poor decision making, and pure dumb bad luck involving, drugs, fraternity houses, sex toys, and beer… among other things.

Good Boys is produced by Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures, which also brought us Superbad, Neighbors, and Sausage Party, so it should be no surprise that raunch and drug-related shenanigans will be major themes for what lies ahead.

The film’s writing team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitksy (who also directs) hold nothing back as the film more than earns its hard R rating. However, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky never forget to pour on the charm as well. In fact, it’s this perfect blend of shocking and poignant that makes the film so darn charming. Good Boys (2019)

The film has strains of Stand By Me, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Risky Business running through its DNA. Yes, it is that important, and will arguably go down in the annals of teen comedy greats, right alongside the kings of teen raunch-com, Superbad and American Pie.

Of course, none of this would work were it not for the three young actors playing Max, Thor, and Lucas. Tremblay, Noon, and Williams lend such an endearing innocence, we can’t help but fall in love with their characters. We’ve seen the master work of Tremblay previously in Room and Wonder, so there’s no question the young actor has a lucrative career ahead him. But it is Williams who steals nearly every scene he’s in, playing his character with such an endearing and, at times, too-truthful innocence that we can’t help but smile.

Yes, Good Boys is raunchy, irreverent, and often downright contemptuous at times. But built into the whip-smart script is a wide range of insight that always digs behind the laughs to remind us of the importance of friendships. Friendships that often begin in adolescence.

4/5 beers

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Good Boys (2019)

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Arrow
Available on Blu-ray - November 12, 2019
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French: DTS 5.1; Spanish: DTS 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; two-disc set; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

The creative minds behind Superbad and Sausage Party bring Good Boys to home video with a sweet little blu-ray + DVD + Digital release which, in addition to the superb 1080p video handling, includes an alternate ending, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel and so much more... all unrated.

Video

While comedies aren't typically where hi-def fans go for high quality video encodes that put their home video systems to the ultimate test, there's no denying that the folks over at Universal have done this comedy right with a beautiful 1080p 2.39:1 transfer that is always bright and colorful, and rarely misses the mark.

Audio

Good Boys is a rapid-fire talk-fest with jokes coming at us at a fast and furious pace, yet dialogue always remains clear and audible. The 5.1 mix occasionally comes to life when the hip-hip soundtrack ramps up. Even Judas Priest get in on the action with Race With the Devil. Fun stuff

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Director and co-writer Gene Stupinsky and producer/co-writer Lee Eisenberg sit down for a fun and informative feature-length commentary. There are lots of quiet moments between the two but they are a fun couple of guys to watch the movie with.

Special Features:

This is where you'll get your money's worth as the release comes with an unrated alternate ending, a gag reel, six making-of featurettes, and a feature commentary with director and co-writer Gene Stupinsky and producer/co-writer Lee Eisenberg. All in all plenty of bonus material to keep the laughs going long after the film's closing credits have rolled.

• Unrated Alternate Ending

• Unrated deleted and Extended Scenes

  • Turtle vs. Tortoise
  • Benji Don't Like That
  • Customer Service
  • Ball Pit Shenanigans
  • Tracking Molly
  • Stealing a Glance
  • Upsell Fail
  • Max Explodes
  • Best Friends
  • Traffic Jam
  • First Kiss Heartbreak

• Gag Reel

• Boys For Real – A look into the casting process and real-life friendships that evolved on-set.

• Welcome to Vancouver - Watch as Jacob Tremblay shows off some of his favorite things about his home town.

• A Fine Line  – Hear filmmakers and cast discuss how the film's stars delivered such colorful dialogue without necessarily knowing what the words mean.

• Ask Your Parents – Cast and filmmakers talk about how they were able to navigate adult questions from curious child actors.

• Bad Girls – Molly Gordon and Midori Francis discuss how they were able to ramp up the mean, and how Annabelle was able to raise the comedy stakes.

• Guest Stars – Take a closer look at some of the hilarious guest stars that lent their unique talents to the film.

Blu-ray Rating:

  Movie 4/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 4/5 stars
  Extras 5/5 stars

Overall Blu-ray Experience

4.5/5 stars

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[tab title="Film Details"]

Good Boys (2019)

MPAA Rating: R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout - all involving tweens.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Writer: Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: One Bad Decision Leads to Another.
Memorable Movie Quote: "How many husbands does she have?"
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site: https://www.goodboysmovie.com/
Release Date: August 16, 2019
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 23, 1987
Synopsis: Three sixth grade boys ditch school and embark on an epic journey while carrying accidentally stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited party.

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[tab title="Art"]

Good Boys (2019)

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