The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
THERE is a special place in hell for people like Seth Rogen and Lee Eisenberg.
While this seems a bit harsh given that they are just producers, filming raunchy jokes, sexual innuendo and all sorts of tomfoolery disguised as slapstick comedy is just unacceptable.
And l would bet my last dollar that these two famous writers put in their two cents during the creative process as well. ln fact, Eisenberg is credited as a co-writer.
Over the years, I have been a huge fan of the two, even going as far as spending an entire weekend on a Rogen movie marathon.
My gripe with Rogen and Eisenberg is that their latest offering, “The Good Boys”, crosses the line.
In my book, this movie ranks as their worst. This is despite the fact that I watched horrible productions such as “The Interview” and “Sausage Party”.
On the surface, the film is your typical coming of age story.
Max (Jacob Temblay), a hormonal sixth grader on the cusp of adolescence, is invited to his first kissing party.
In attempting to gain acceptance and get some face time, rather lip time, with his very first crush Brixlee (Millie Davis), Max decides to seek help.
He looks to his best friends Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon) first, and the three scour the internet.
However, the internet mission fails as it leads the trio to some porn sites and what they think is a cardiopulmonary resuscitation device or CPR doll, when it is not.
The three then decide to spy on their neighbours Hannah (Molly Gordon) and her friend Lily (Midori Francis), using Max’s father’s drone, which he is not allowed to touch.
From then on, all hell breaks loose.
Without giving away too much, the drone is destroyed and some drugs go missing, leading to the three ditching school as they search for a replacement of the drone.
As they go around town, they are chased by two drugged-up teen girls.
My major grievance with this movie is on the use of kids.
While this type of comedy has seen films like “American Pie”, “Superbad” and most recently “Booksmart” succeeding, “The Good Boys” prompted me to ask how young is too young?
l am of the view that 13-year-olds are too young for sexual content, particularly the Rogen variety.
Given the fact that The Sunday Mail is a family paper, I am unable to name or describe most of the props, gags and language used.
There are porn references in this film.
Even more disturbing, Rogen and his pals were completely comfortable letting these young budding actors use some “tools” in the film.
The R-rating on the movie actually means that the films’ stars are not allowed to watch their own movie.
While the film is definitely not fit to be watched by 13-year-olds, the plot is simple to understand and there are some good performances to make it watchable.
In Davis and Noon, the world might just have been introduced to two future A-listers. They give brilliant performances throughout the movie. Many actors and actresses thrice their age are yet to master comedic timing.
Sadly, Williams totally fails in this regard and ends up being the weakest link.
There are also a couple of memorable cameos from the likes of Stephen Merchant and Sam Richardson. Had they not nailed their parts so well, I would have marked them down as wasted.
