Good Boys Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Good Boys Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 14, 2019

When a movie's MPAA rating is made into a standout feature on poster art and promotional materials, there's probably a good reason for the prominence. Director Gene Stupnitsky's Good Boys isn't the most vulgar, profane, and envelope-pushing Comedy ever made, but that its protagonists are a trio of foul-mouthed sixth graders who dole out profanity -- often awkwardly without really knowing what they are saying -- does add a more crude dynamic to the presentation. Of course Good Boys isn't much of a novelty if one considers the vulgar child thing has been done before, and much more effectively, in South Park. Good Boys plays like a move trying to fill a niche that doesn't really exist. It builds up a few themes with a small amount of dramatic value but there's ultimately not enough here to make the audience truly care, either in terms of engaging because of the movie's vulgarity or in terms of the relationship amongst its characters.

Sixth graders Max (Jacob Tremblay), Thor (Brady Noon), and Lucas (Keith L. Williams) -- "The Beanbag Boys" -- are lifelong best friends who are growing up and might grow apart. Max has a crush on Brixlee (Millie Davis), and she's overwhelming his mind and his emotions. Thor is an aspiring singer but is bullied for his musical talents and aspirations. Lucas has just learned that his parents are divorcing. When Max is invited to a party that Brixlee will be attending, he finds an opportunity to get closer to her and, maybe, kiss her. But he has no idea how to kiss a girl. He uses his father's drone to spy on his neighbor, and older girl named Hannah (Molly Gordon), but a tussle over the controls crashes the prized vehicle and puts it in Hannah's hands. The boys fail to retrieve it but do wind up with Hannah's and her friend Lilly's (Midori Francis) drugs. As the opposing sides negotiate a swap, the boys find themselves on an adventure around town that will thrust them towards maturity and, possibly, away from one another.

Burgeoning sexuality, transforming self-awareness, and awkward adolescence are at the heart of Good Boys. In the film, the boys struggle to make sense of the world and of themselves. The movie is meant to thrive on their inward and outward transformations, to find the humor in the misadventures of misunderstandings, to capitalize on their hazy worldview and general lack of understanding of the things they so desperately want to understand work. It’s a movie about identity and maturity in the modern world, about that awkward time in life when physical, mental, and emotional development kicks into overdrive and the established comforts of childhood clash with the burgeoning realities of the teenage years. If the film succeeds in any one area it’s in that center, in its depiction of the boys’ struggles to exist in a world and in a point in their lives that demands they present themselves differently, even if they don’t really know how to do so with full confidence. Tremblay, Noon, and Williams are terrific at capturing that clumsiness, in interacting with the world and with one another in a way sort of makes sense but pushes their understanding of who they are and how the world works.

But the film doesn't accomplish much of value with the premise. It's not so edgy as to be memorable and its story isn't so complete as to be valuable. The movie is at its best in the final act when the boys suddenly realize that their friendship might not survive their push into puberty, at least not as they have always known it. It leads to a few tender moments, but there's not enough grounded emotional content to truly make the audience care about their forking future paths. Further, the middle stretch in which the boys attempt to recover Max's father's prized drone isn't particularly engaging. It earns a few scattered chuckles but it's too scattershot and devoid of any real sense of peril or consequence to matter. The movie mostly feels comfortable spitting out vulgarities, but in 2019 that's not enough to keep an audience interested, even if it's sixth graders saying the darnedest things.

Good Boys Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The digitally photographed Good Boys arrives on Blu-ray with a sturdy, stable, and technically sound 1080p transfer. The digital source does introduce some noise from time to time, even in somewhat well-lit shots, but its not a particularly worrisome issue. Otherwise, the image is in very good working order. Clarity is excellent and the picture is sharp throughout. Environments, which range from densely decorated bedrooms to wooded exteriors, from shopping mall interiors to school cafeterias, enjoy quality complexity in all shots. Clothing and facial details are firm and capture essential textures with screen commanding ease. Colors are bold. Contrast emphasizes depth and punch, particularly on clothes which represent some of the most stout shades in the film. Black levels and flesh tones are of a high quality. This is a very good presentation from Universal.

Good Boys Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Good Boys arrives on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's not more than routinely complex in construction and delivery. Musical engagement is fine, featuring quality stretch along the front, good instrumental clarity to score, and agreeable depth to the low end as necessary. The subwoofer doesn't put in overtime, and the surrounds aren't used extensively, even when the boys cross a busy highway in chapter 11. Most extra sounds beyond dialogue and music are simple fill, and again the surrounds don't carry much, at least in terms of obvious, forceful usage. The burgeoning prepubescent voices can be slightly hard to hear but a minor volume adjustment helps.

Good Boys Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Good Boys contains an alternate ending, deleted scenes, a gag reel, featurettes, and an audio commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Alternate Ending (1080p, 2:00).
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p, 10:26 total runtime): Included are 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, and First Kiss Heartbreak.
• Boys For Real (1080p, 3:12): Assembling the primary cast and exploring the actors' personalities.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:07): Humorous moment from the shoot.
• Welcome to Vancouver (1080p, 1:07): Shooting in Jacob Tremblay's hometown and even his real life school.
• A Fine Line (1080p, 2:41): A conversation about the extreme language in the film and the authenticity of its usage.
• Ask Your Parents (1080p, 2:07): Pushing boundaries and challenging the actors.
• Bad Girls (1080p, 1:45): A closer look at the film's female stars, played by Molly Gordon and Midori Francis.
• Guest Stars (1080p, 2:39): A quick look at some of the secondary characters and the actors who portray them.
• Audio Commentary: Director/Co-Writer Gene Stupnitsky and Producer/Co-Writer Lee Eisenberg discuss the movie.

Good Boys Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Good Boys dabbles in a few good ideas but ultimately succumbs to the lack of a well defined center and a sluggish middle stretch. The third act is of modest value as the boys learn that their future may not be identical to their past, but even as the performances are relatively strong the movie cannot escape the feel for underwhelming pace and shortchanged dramatic value amidst scattered laughs and plenty of language. Universal's Blu-ray features quality video and audio. Extras include a commentary, deleted scenes, and a handful of featurettes. Rent it.