Movie Review: Kids Say The Darndest —  And Dirtiest — Things In Coming-Of-Age Comedy Good Boys  

Starring Jacob Tremblay, Keith L Williams, Brady Noon

Directed by Gene Stupnitsky

Need a break from superhero melees and stalking spirits? Why not give this salty, spunky coming-of-age comedy produced by Seth Rogen a go?

Good Boys comes across as a spiritual prequel to high-school raunch-fest Superbad (also a Rogen joint, so to speak), except here the main characters aren’t college-bound teens, but middle-school-bound tweens.

Jacob Tremblay, Keith L Williams, and Brady Noon (their average age is 12 — they aren’t even old enough to watch the R-rated movie!) play the titular characters, sixth-grade buds gearing up for their first party...with girls. Hubba, hubba.

Getting there, however, is a nightmare, one hilariously epic journey involving a damaged drone, a missing bag of recreational drugs, a sex doll, a game of human Frogger on an expressway, a creepy Stephen Merchant, and the most thrilling paintball shootout since the ‘Modern Warfare’ episode of Community.

Tremblay, Williams, and Noon are adorkable, and their on-screen camaraderie is off-the-charts. But there’s more to Good Boys than just prepubescent lads cussing. Like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it’s an affecting paean to childhood friendships and a reminder of just how exciting and endless a day can be when you’re young.

Here’s a rad thought: Make the sequel 20 years later with the same actors. If the studio can’t wait that long, then get Adam Scott, Jack Black, and Craig Robinson. Can you see that? (***1/2)

Photos: UIP