Good Boys Review

Good Boys

Dir: Gene Stupnitsky

Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Molly Gordon, Midori Francis, and Will Forte

While sitting around the dinner table chatting with my parents, I accidentally dropped the “F-word” in casual conversation. With a noticeable physical flinch my mother stopped the conversation, looked me dead in the eyes, and told me “watch your mouth”. This happened a month ago and I am in my late 30’s. 

I can only imagine how my mother would react and what she would say to the young tween boys in the completely raunchy, surprisingly heartfelt coming-of-age comedy “Good Boys”. Within the first 15 minutes numerous, unrestrained, and awkward discussions pertaining to kissing, masturbation, and numerous other topics of a sexual nature are had with a combination, one might call it flair, of explicit language as connective tissue for the themes. “Good Boys” has shock factor but it’s also completely hilarious and unexpectedly sweet. 

The “Bean Bag Boys”, Max (Jacob Tremblay), Thor (Brady Noon), and Lucas (Keith L. Williams), are sixth graders trying to traverse the changing landscape of their school, their own growing maturity, and also their friendship. Max has a crush on a girl named Brixlee (Millie Davis) and he is invited by the popular kids to a kissing party. Max is able to get Thor and Lucas invited, who aren’t initially requested to go, but before they can make the party they need to learn how to kiss a girl. In the process they lose an expensive drone and come into possession with a purse with drugs. 

Almost every film handling the coming-of-age theme deals with the reality of adulthood crashing down on the innocence of young people. In the process the young people are forced to mature, sometimes faster than expected, in order to survive in the changing world. “Good Boys” incorporates much of this same narrative structure, though without some of the deeper insights found in films dealing with older kids like in “Stand by Me” or even “Sixteen Candles”. 

These are also sixth graders; their innocence is still very much intact even though they are faced with a wealth of grown up situations which are happening around them. This is where “Good Boys” finds its most humorous quality. The strongest comedic element of this film happens because of the kid’s genuine innocence and naivety to adult situations. When they come into possession of a purse with drugs, their first instinct is to make a citizen’s arrest while using imaginary finger guns to assist. It’s played to the height of innocence for the young characters.

Even though the plot is somewhat paper thin in structure, the themes manipulated throughout the film help in establishing the heart that makes the humor so much more authentic. The friends are being pushed into a world that wants them to mature so quickly, where a simple search on the computer can expose them to a world of adult circumstances. The friends are all trying to find their place in the world, which brings about the natural pulling apart of their friendship as one is trying to be cool, one is trying to find a girlfriend, and one is just content with doing things that he thinks are simply fun. These aspects of character building and the exploration of different themes in different perspectives is what moves the narrative forward.

“Good Boys” is raunchy humor and hard language coming from the mouths of 12-year-olds. However, beyond this form of harsh comedy, which can be very funny, is some genuine heart and a complete sweetness that comes through with the relationship between these young friends. And in the end, it’s not the shocking moments that will keep the laughs going, it’s the innocence found within each of these young kids who are just trying to make sense of the world they are encountering that will sustain humor beyond the credits.

Monte’s Rating

3.75 out of 5.00

 

Room Review

Room

Dir: Lenny Abrahamson

Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridges, Joan Allen, and William H. Macy

113 Minutes

Element Pictures

Young children can make the most simple and meaningless objects come to creative life, their imagination transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary. At the core of Lenny Abrahamson’s film “Room”, based off the critically acclaimed novel by Emma Donaghue, is a story about the relationship between a mother and child. It also happens to be about a horrendous seven-year long kidnapping. Though the surprise is that at moments the terrible crime being portrayed on screen, in a tiny single room, takes a back seat to a heartfelt and sincere portrayal of a child encapsulated in a one-room world with his mother. For the child the room holds every memory and is the definition of safety and love. For the mother the room holds the exact opposite sentiments, her only reason for living being the child she is trying to save. “Room” is filled with moments of gut-wrenching emotion, it’s a terrifying captivity tale, a profound example of resilience and survival, and displays the bond of codependency that exists between a mother and child.

Jack (Jacob Tremblay) is celebrating his 5^th birthday with Ma (Brie Larson). Their little family lives in a little shed, the victims of a kidnapping by a sexual predator nicknamed Old Nick (Sean Bridges). The two live a life within four walls; every moment of the day is lived through the illumination of a singular skylight. Ma smiles for Jack through the lingering pain of a life taken from her seven years prior. Jack’s lively imagination and Ma’s unwavering love keeps Jack from realizing that anything is out of the ordinary. After an altercation with Old Nick, Ma devises a plan to escape which leads to Jack’s harrowing journey into a world he has never seen.

The narrative at numerous times in the film is constructed from Jack’s point of view. We see the familiar world through his eyes, but also the changing world once the film moves away from the imprisonment. Jack often refers to this living place simply as “room”, almost as if it were a person instead of a place; it’s a poignant narrative touch. We also see the changing character of Ma, a kidnapped mother forced to build a life in seclusion with her child and then as a post-traumatic suffering survivor dealing with the world she once knew, a world still messy and complicated.

Lenny Abrahamson directs “Room” confidently throughout, painting a world that is at one moment a simple and minuscule process and then opening into broad and complicated form. The camera utilizes close-up framing of objects to make the world seem larger than it is, but also to display the grandeur of Jack’s imagination. When Jack makes the escape, wrapped in a rug with only a circular viewpoint to see glimpses of the new world, the camera is in constant motion and changing focus, a correlation to how Jack is processing the new world in its startling brightness. Unfortunately this amusing technique only lasts for a few quick moments, the world that Jack is experiencing is quickly substituted for standard dramatic elements. Seven years in captivity changes everything, while the world remains new for Jack, Ma is thrust back into a life that has been damaged by the tragic event. While this offers an interesting perspective for Ma, the character is somewhat glazed over in the end.

Still, Brie Larson is simply fantastic. An impressive leading performance that is heartbreakingly subdued yet in other moments filled with undeniable passion. Jacob Tremblay gives the film its life; his performance is filled with energy and a sensibility that can only be defined as pure. Together the two actors have incredible chemistry. Ms. Larson and Mr. Tremblay are a primary reason to see this film.

“Room” is a very good film with even better performances. The film handles subject matter that can be difficult to watch at times but the narrative consistently displays the strength of the characters and the resiliency to show that a “home” is wherever love exists, even if it’s in the confinement of four walls.

Monte’s Rating

4.00 out of 5.00