Good Boys

Rated: MA15+Good Boys

Directed by: Gene Stupnitsky

Written by: Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky

Produced by: Lee Eisenberg, p.ga, Evan Goldberg, p. g. a., Seth Rogen, p.g.a., James Weaver, p.g.a

Executive Producers: Josh Fagen, Brady Fujikawa, John Powers Middleton

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

‘Beanbag boys for life.’

That’s how it is when you’re twelve.

There are tears flowing while dancing to, ‘Walking on Sunshine’ – yep, remember the enthusiasm in music class before it got embarrassing?

And Sunday cycling?

And when your mum’s your best friend??

When Max (Jacob Tremblay) gets invited by the cool kids to a kissing party, or course he’s not going without his mates, Thor (Brady Noon) and Lucas (Keith L. Williams): Beanbag Boys, for, Life!

But they don’t know how to kiss either.

So what do they do?

First, they decide it’s a good idea to type ‘PORN’ into a computer.  Then decide it’s a better idea to spy on the nympho (meaning she has sex on land and the sea) next door with Max’s dad’s (Will Forte) precious, ‘Never-to-be-touched-because-it’s-not-a-toy.  It’s for work’ – drone.

Only for the drone to inevitably be destroyed.  Leading the boys on an adventure taking them further from home than they’ve ever been: miles.

The humour in Good Boys feels surprisingly like new territory.

It’s a comedy with some coming-of-age stuff that’s mostly about approaching teen kids’ interpretation of the adult world.  Or misinterpretation.

That’s what makes the film so sweet and funny and good.  It shows the innocence of kids growing up that somehow feels new.

Writing duo, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, state, ‘we felt like we could find kids in this age group to say outrageous things…and that could make people lean forward a bit […] The idea of an R-rated movie starring children just made us laugh.”

So the comedy is based on seeing kids cuss and misinterpret adult stuff like anal beads, sex swings and proving you’re hard by sipping beer:

One sip, you already feel it;

Two sips, you’re tough;

If you sip four, you’ve broken the record.  You’re an alcoholic.  Cool.

It all seems so silly written down.  But seeing the kids say and do and misinterpret over and over again is hilarious because they’re so earnest.

The film really captures how kids are at that age.

Funnily enough, I drank a beer pre-screening of course prompting that dreaded, absolutely necessary toilet run.  What I noticed on the way back to my seat was the smiles on everyone’s faces in the audience.

This isn’t a film that gets heavy or tries to convey any message.  It’s just a funny comedy with some clever jokes played with sincerity from some well-cast kids: good fun.

Wonder

Rated: PGWonder

Directed by: Stephen Chbosky

Produced by: Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman

Screenplay by: Jack Thorne and Steven Conrad and Stephen Chbosky

Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Daveed Diggs, Mandy Patinkin.

How would you feel if your appearance caused strangers to gawp, freeze in horror or avert their eyes, so they could pretend they couldn’t see you?

This is Augie Pullman’s world, a 10-year-old boy born with severe facial deformities, about to enter school for the first time. At the school gates with his fiercely loving family, Mum, Isabella (Julia Roberts), Dad, Nate (Owen Wilson) and his teenage sister Via (Izabela Vidovic), Augie hesitates to remove his final shield of anonymity, a space helmet, his final buffer between him, and a schoolyard full of staring children.

Augie accepts that he is different, he just wishes everybody else didn’t have such a hard time with the way he looks.

Based on a New York Times bestseller, Wonder addresses today’s appearance driven culture where one is quick to judge another without making time to look beneath the surface.Wonder

Director Stephen Chbosky refuses to demonize the surface appearance of his characters by using film to shoot Augie and all those in his orbit through multiple viewpoints.

With multiple viewpoints Chbosky chooses not to minimize the severity of Augie’s facial differences, or the value society places on physical appearance.

One stand out scene is in Chbosky’s multiple viewpoint rendering of the bully, Julian, (Bryce Gheisar).

When Julian is called into the Headmaster, Mr Tushman’s (Mandy Patinkin) office to account for allegedly photo shopping Augie as deformed out of their class photo, we are stunned and moved to compassion as Julian’s mother interrupts and presents an unexpected layer to this scene. Julian’s mother unapologetically declares that she photo shopped Augie out as she was sick of her visitors concentrating on the deformed kid in the photo and not seeing her son.Wonder

As Julian’s parent storm out of Mr Tushman’s office, Julian turns back to apologise. As a child with an innocent heart he knows he has done wrong and is genuinely sorry. Without recrimination only heartfelt sadness Mr Tush says, ‘I know you are son’.

There is a lot of heart and transformation within this film and a lot of unbridled joy.

I was captivated by the effervescent joy and connection between Augie and his family.

This is a family everyone would want to be part of. A family whose joy is not metered or seeking approval from anything external to themselves. A family who celebrate each other and their unique differences.

Via says to Augie, ‘Why blend in when you were born to stand out’.

And it is Augie’s self-acceptance that transforms the lives of everyone in this story and everyone watching.

Wonder penetrates as a film about the self-acceptance of our differences and how the choices we make define and expose our truest character.

When we don’t accept ourselves it is easy to judge and put down those who are different from us. Our judgements never define those we judge, they define us.

[amazon_link asins=’1524720194′ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’gomoviereview-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’fbc747a8-dd76-11e7-ab15-274bfb19c661′]

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