The Comedies Rewriting The Script On 21st Century Teenhood

By Karen Gaytán
Assistant Multimedia Director

This year’s SXSW brought two stellar comedies that were referred to by crowds as new staple pieces of the generation. Rewriting the script for what it means to be young and coming-of-age, Good Boys was considered a crowd favorite at this year’s festival.

Directed by Gene Stupnisky and produced by Seth Rogen, Good Boys follows three tween-aged boys who ditch school for the day — stumbling upon sex dolls, uncontrolled substances, and frat boys along the way. Needless to say, the film is not for the faint of heart. It tells the story of Max, Lucas, and Thor, and their journey to their first “kissing party.” After Max gets invited to the most popular sixth-grade boy’s house party, the boys must go through a series of challenges to prove that they’re cool. It highlights the impending pressure of fitting in when you’re in sixth grade and don’t fully understand the power and cultural dynamics of the world. Of course, with a name like Rogan’s attached to the project one can expect outbursts of intense laughter and quips of hilarity throughout.

The film writes a new script for coming-of-age tweens who must navigate boyhood in a post-#MeToo era — the film uses the kind of raunchy humor that sets Rogen apart while subscribing to the demands of audiences that demand to see examples of consent in mainstream media.

After watching the film, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for my sixth-grade self to whom boys were an enigma. Good Boys touched a soft spot for the memories of my childhood, finally settling in and making sense of my gamer cousins whose constant use of “fart” or “s**t” I could never understand, but ultimately showing a romantic tale of friendship and adventure.

The film will be released in theaters nationwide on August 16, 2019.

Featured image by Karen Gaytán.