Tom Hanks dons the iconic red cardigan next weekend in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. The feel good drama casts the double Oscar winner as childrens host Mister Rogers, just one year after Won’t You Be My Neighbor? became one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time. Marielle Heller (who directed Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant to Academy nods last year in Can You Ever Forgive Me?) is behind the camera. Matthew Rhys stars as a journalist doing a story on Rogers with Susan Kelechi Watson and Chris Cooper in the supporting cast.
Since Day debuted at the Toronto Film Festival a couple months back, solid buzz followed and its current Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 97%. It appears probable that Hanks will receive his first Oscar nomination (in Supporting Actor) since 2000’s Cast Away. The aforementioned 2018 doc likely helps its visibility, as does casting one of our biggest movie stars as one of America’s most beloved figures.
There is the matter of Frozen II, which could siphon some family audiences away. Beautiful also arrives on the pre Thanksgiving long frame and some filmgoers may simply choose to spend time in this neighborhood at that time.
While I do believe a premiere of over $20 million (maybe even $25 million) is feasible, I’ll say high teens with weekends of strong holds ahead is the play.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood opening weekend prediction: $18.6 million
Blogger’s Note (11/16): I’ve upgraded my estimate from $113.7M to $126.7M
Today, frozen is the word described by many as what they’re experiencing when they attempt to view Disney Plus on its first day of launch. Next weekend, Frozen II looks to heat up a sleepy box office and continue the Mouse Factory’s stellar year. This is the sequel to the 2013 smash hit that earned over a billion dollars worldwide. The computer animated musical fantasy has Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad returning to voice their known characters along with newbies Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Marsha Plimpton, and Jason Ritter. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee make a return engagement behind the camera.
Six years ago in November, part 1 turned into a phenomenon. Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, the critically hailed Oscar winner took in $93 million and legged out impressively to a domestic haul of $400 million. This time around, expectations are understandably sky high. A gross north of $100 million out of the gate is anticipated.
With its rather short span between entries, Frozen II should achieve that status. I suspect earnings in the neighborhood of what Toy Story 4 ($120.9 million) took in this summer is the range. I’ll put it a few million over that mark.
Frozen II opening weekend prediction: $126.7 million
For my A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood prediction, click here:
It’s been a distressingly sluggish November at the box office thus far and it might take Frozen II to heat it back up. That doesn’t come out until weekend. For this frame, we have the racing pic and Oscar hopeful Ford v Ferrari with Matt Damon and Christian Bale, the reboot of the Charlie’s Angels franchise with Kristen Stewart, and the Ian McKellen/Helen Mirren thriller The Good Liar. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on them here:
Some estimates have Ford zooming to the top spot with $30 million plus. I’m skeptical. While it should have no trouble hitting #1, I believe mid 20s is the more likely scenario as it hopes to flex strong leg muscle over the holiday season.
Audiences have shown a distaste with unasked for reboots all year and I expect that to continue with Angels, which has failed to generate significant buzz. My low teens projection would guarantee no more editions of this series into the future.
As for Liar, solid reviews and Oscar chatter would’ve helped and it hasn’t achieved either. My $6 million take leaves it outside of the top five.
When it comes to holdovers, Midway was a surprise #1 due to the massive underperforming of Doctor Sleep (more on that below). A dip in the early to mid 40s should put it in fifth.
I expect Playing with Fire and Last Christmas to have the best holds in their sophomore weekends in the 30s region, while Sleep should plummet in the mid 50s or more. This means Sleep may find its way below the high five. I anticipate that being the case and here’s how I envision the weekend:
1. Ford v Ferrari
Predicted Gross: $24.4 million
2. Charlie’s Angels
Predicted Gross: $14.2 million
3. Midway
Predicted Gross: $10.2 million
4. Playing with Fire
Predicted Gross: $8.3 million
5. Last Christmas
Predicted Gross: $7 million
Box Office Results (November 8-10)
It isn’t often that the film you pick to be at #4 tops the charts, but it happened this weekend as Midway led a sleepy frame with $17.8 million. That’s above my $13 million prediction. With a reported budget of $100 million, Lionsgate might not be popping champagne corks. Yet they do have bragging rights.
That World War II pic has Doctor Sleep to thank for its relative success. The Shining sequel was a massive failure with just $14.1 million for second place. That’s considerably under my $24.8 million projection. Warner Bros is fortunate to still be counting that Joker cash because there’s absolutely zero positive way to spin this.
John Cena’s family comedy Playing with Fire surpassed expectations in third with $12.7 million, well above my $7.9 million take. It looks poised for a healthy holiday run.
Speaking of the Yuletide season, rom com Last Christmas opened fourth with $11.4 million. That’s under its anticipated numbers and I had it at $16.9 million. However, with a smallish price tag of $30 million, it too looks for meager declines ahead.
Terminator: Dark Fate plummeted to fifth with $10.8 million compared to my guesstimate of $13.2 million. The highly disappointing two-week tally is $48 million and the $100 million mark domestically appears out of reach.
Joker was sixth with $9.2 million, on pace with my $9.1 million prediction for $313 million overall.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was seventh at $8.4 million (I said $7.2 million) as it nears the century figure at $97 million.
Harriet was eighth in its sophomore outing with $7.4 million (I went with $7.7 million) for $23 million total.
3. Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 2)
4. Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story (PR: 5)
5. Sam Mendes, 1917 (PR: 4)
Other Possibilities:
6. Greta Gerwig, Little Women (PR: 6)
7. Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit (PR: 7)
8. James Mangold, Ford v Ferrari (PR: 9)
9. Fernando Meirelles, The Two Popes (PR: 8)
10. Lulu Wang, The Farewell (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Todd Phillips, Joker
Best Actor
Predicted Nominees:
1. Adam Driver, Marriage Story (PR: 1)
2. Joaquin Phoenix, Joker (PR: 2)
3. Robert De Niro, The Irishman (PR: 6)
4. Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 4)
5. Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes (PR: 3)
Other Possibilities:
6. Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory (PR: 8)
7. Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name (PR: 5)
8. Taron Egerton, Rocketman (PR: 7)
9. Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari (PR: 9)
10. Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems (PR: 10)
Best Actress
Predicted Nominees:
1. Renee Zellweger, Judy (PR: 1)
2. Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story (PR: 3)
3. Charlize Theron, Bombshell (PR: 2)
4. Saoirse Ronan, Little Women (PR: 4)
5. Cynthia Erivo, Harriet (PR: 5)
Other Possibilities:
6. Awkwafina, The Farewell (PR: 6)
7. Lupita Nyong’o, Us (PR: 8)
8. Alfre Woodard, Clemency (PR: 7)
9. Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell (PR: 9)
10. Felicity Jones, The Aeronauts (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Helen Mirren, The Good Liar
Best Supporting Actress
Predicted Nominees:
1. Laura Dern, Marriage Story (PR: 1)
2. Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers (PR: 2)
3. Margot Robbie, Bombshell (PR: 3)
4. Florence Pugh, Little Women (PR: 4)
5. Annette Bening, The Report (PR: 5)
Other Possibilities:
6. Shuzhen Zhou, The Farewell (PR: 6)
7. Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit (PR: 7)
8. Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey (PR: 9)
9. Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 10)
10. Nicole Kidman, Bombshell (PR: 8)
Best Supporting Actor
Predicted Nominees:
1. Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 1)
2. Al Pacino, The Irishman (PR: 2)
3. Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (PR: 4)
4. Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse (PR: 5)
5. Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes (PR: 3)
Other Possibilities:
6. Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy (PR: 8)
7. Joe Pesci, The Irishman (PR: 6)
8. Song Kang-Ho, Parasite (PR: Not Rankled)
9. Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy (PR: 7)
10. Sterling K. Brown, Waves (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
John Lithgow, Bombshell
Wesley Snipes, Dolemite Is My Name
Best Original Screenplay
Predicted Nominees:
1. Marriage Story (PR: 2)
2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 1)
3. Parasite (PR: 3)
4. The Farewell (PR: 4)
5. Pain and Glory (PR: 6)
Other Possibilities:
6. Bombshell (PR: 5)
7. Booksmart (PR: Not Ranked)
8. Waves (PR: 8)
9. Ford v Ferrari (PR: 7)
10. Honey Boy (PR: 10)
Dropped Out:
1917
Best Adapted Screenplay
Predicted Nominees:
1. The Irishman (PR: 1)
2. Jojo Rabbit (PR: 2)
3. Little Women (PR: 4)
4. The Two Popes (PR: 3)
5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (PR: 6)
Other Possibilities:
6. Joker (PR: 5)
7. Just Mercy (PR: 7)
8. Richard Jewell (PR: 8)
9. Downton Abbey (PR: Not Ranked)
10. Hustlers (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Judy
Dark Waters
Best International Feature Film
Predicted Nominees:
1. Parasite (PR: 1)
2. Pain and Glory (PR: 2)
3. Les Miserables (PR: 3)
4. Atlantics (PR: 7)
5. Beanpole (PR: 5)
Other Possibilities:
6. Monos (PR: 4)
7. And Then We Danced (PR: 6)
8. A White, White Day (PR: 9)
9. Those Who Remained (PR: 8)
10. Papicha (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Tel Aviv on Fire
Best Animated Feature
Predicted Nominees:
1. Toy Story 4 (PR: 1)
2. Frozen II (PR: 2)
3. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (PR: 3)
4. I Lost My Body (PR: 5)
5. Weathering with You (PR: 4)
Other Possibilities:
6. Abominable (PR: 8)
7. Missing Link (PR: 7)
8. Bunuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles (PR: 6)
9. Klaus (PR: 9)
10. Spies in Disguise (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Funan
Best Documentary Feature
Predicted Nominees:
1. American Factory (PR: 1)
2. One Child Nation (PR: 2)
3. The Cave (PR: 5)
4. Maiden (PR: 3)
5. Apollo 11 (PR: 4)
Other Possibilities:
6. The Biggest Little Farm (PR: 6)
7. Honeyland (PR: Not Ranked)
8. Knock Down the House (PR: 7)
9. The Edge of Democracy (PR: Not Ranked)
10. Sea of Shadows (PR: 9)
Dropped Out:
For Sama
Diego Maradona
Best Cinematography
Predicted Nominees:
1. 1917 (PR: 1)
2. The Irishman (PR: 2)
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 3)
4. The Lighthouse (PR: 5)
5. Joker (PR: 10)
Other Possibilities:
6. Ford v Ferrari (PR: 6)
7. A Hidden Life (PR: 4)
8. Ad Astra (PR: 8)
9. Parasite (PR: 7)
10. Marriage Story (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Costume Design
Predicted Nominees:
1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 1)
2. Downton Abbey (PR: 4)
3. Rocketman (PR: 5)
4. Dolemite Is My Name (PR: 2)
5. Little Women (PR: 3)
Other Possibilities:
6. The Irishman (PR: 7)
7. Judy (PR: 6)
8. Jojo Rabbit (PR: 9)
9. Joker (PR: Not Ranked)
10. Dumbo (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Cats
Aladdin
Best Film Editing
Predicted Nominees:
1. The Irishman (PR: 1)
2. Ford v Ferrari (PR: 2)
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 3)
4. Parasite (PR: 5)
5. Marriage Story (PR: 6)
Other Possibilities:
6. 1917 (PR: 4)
7. Bombshell (PR: Not Ranked)
8. Jojo Rabbit (PR: 7)
9. Joker (PR: 9)
10. Avengers: Endgame (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Rocketman
Knives Out
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Predicted Nominees:
1. Bombshell (PR: 1)
2. The Irishman (PR: 2)
3. Judy (PR: 3)
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 5)
5. Dolemite Is My Name (PR: 4)
Other Possibilities:
6. Rocketman (PR: 6)
7. Joker (PR: 10)
8. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PR: 9)
9. The Two Popes (PR: Not Ranked)
10. Us (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Cats
The Aeronauts
Best Production Design
Predicted Nominees:
1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 1)
2. The Irishman (PR: 2)
3. Little Women (PR: 4)
4. 1917 (PR: 5)
5. Parasite (PR: 6)
Other Possibilities:
6. Jojo Rabbit (PR: 3)
7. Cats (PR: 7)
8. Downton Abbey (PR: 9)
9. Joker (PR: 10)
10. The Aeronauts (PR: 8)
Best Original Score
Predicted Nominees:
1. 1917 (PR: 1)
2. Little Women (PR: 2)
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PR: 3)
4. Marriage Story (PR: 4)
5. Joker (PR: 10)
Other Possibilities:
6. Ford v Ferrari (PR: 5)
7. A Hidden Life (PR: 6)
8. Jojo Rabbit (PR: 8)
9. The Aeronauts (PR: 7)
10. Ad Astra (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Waves
Best Original Song
Predicted Nominees:
1. “Into the Unknown” from Frozen II (PR: 1)
2. “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman (PR: 2)
3. “Stand Up” from Harriet (PR: 4)
4. “Beautiful Ghosts” from Cats (PR: 3)
5. “Spirit” from The Lion King (PR: 7)
Other Possibilities:
6. “Speechless” from Aladdin (PR: 6)
7. “Daily Battles” from Motherless Brooklyn (PR: Not Ranked)
8. “I’m Standing With You” from Breakthrough (PR: 5)
9. “Together From Afar” from How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (PR: Not Ranked)
10. “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from Toy Story 4 (PR: 8)
Dropped Out:
“The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” from Toy Story 4
“One Little Soldier” from Bombshell
Best Sound Editing
Predicted Nominees:
1. 1917 (PR: 2)
2. Ford v Ferrari (PR: 1)
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PR: 3)
4. Avengers: Endgame (PR: 6)
5. Ad Astra (PR: 8)
Other Possibilities:
6. Rocketman (PR: 5)
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 4)
8. The Irishman (PR: 7)
9. Cats (PR: 9)
10. Richard Jewell (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
The Aeronauts
Best Sound Mixing
Predicted Nominees:
1. 1917 (PR: 3)
2. Ford v Ferrari (PR: 1)
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PR: 2)
4. Rocketman (PR: 4)
5. Avengers: Endgame (PR: 5)
Other Possibilities:
6. Ad Astra (PR: 9)
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (PR: 6)
8. Cats (PR: 10)
9. The Irishman (PR: 7)
10. Joker (PR: Not Ranked)
Dropped Out:
Judy
Best Visual Effects
Predicted Nominees:
1. The Irishman (PR: 2)
2. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PR: 1)
3. The Lion King (PR: 4)
4. Avengers: Endgame (PR: 3)
5. The Aeronauts (PR: 5)
Other Possibilities:
6. Ad Astra (PR: 8)
7. Gemini Man (PR: 7)
8. 1917 (PR: 9)
9. Alita: Battle Angel (PR: 6)
10. Dumbo (PR: 10)
And that all equates to these pictures getting the following number of nominations:
10 Nominations
The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
8 Nominations
Marriage Story
7 Nominations
1917, Little Women
6 Nominations
Parasite
4 Nominations
Bombshell, Joker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Two Popes
3 Nominations
Avengers: Endgame, Ford v Ferrari, Rocketman
2 Nominations
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Dolemite Is My Name, Frozen II, Harriet, Jojo Rabbit, Judy, The Lighthouse, The Lion King, Pain and Glory
1 Nomination
Ad Astra, The Aeronauts, American Factory, Apollo 11, Atlantics, Beanpole, Cats, The Cave, Downton Abbey, The Farewell, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Hustlers, I Lost My Body, Les Miserables, Maiden, One Child Nation, The Report, Toy Story 4, Weathering with You
Pairing Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Helen Mirren together is a potential recipe for awards attention success and that’s happening next weekend with the release of The Good Liar. The thriller comes from Bill Condon, who directed McKellen to one of his two Oscar nods in Gods and Monsters. Mirren has received four Academy recognitions with a win in 2006 for The Queen.
The thriller casts McKellen as a con artist attempting to swindle Mirren’s wealthy widow. Reviews are out and while they’re decent (71% on Rotten Tomatoes), the picture is highly unlikely to be much of a box office success and awards chatter is very quiet. While the two leads are garnering praise for their work, both the lead Actor and Actress categories are already filled with more legitimate contenders.
Bottom line: the truth is that The Good Liar will come up empty-handed come nominations time. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…
A sir and a dame team up for the thriller The Good Liar next weekend with hopes to bring in a mature audience. Ian McKellen is the con artist to Helen Mirren’s rich widow. Bill Condon, who directed McKellen to an Oscar nod in 1998’s Gods and Monsters, serves behind the camera. The supporting cast includes Russell Tovey and Jim Carter.
Liar looks to bring in a Downton Abbey crowd looking for something a bit more devilish. Awards buzz would help and Liar appears unlikely to achieve it. Reviews are mixed with a current Rotten Tomatoes rating of 55%. There’s also adult competition in the form of Ford v Ferrari, which should have the pole position for the weekend.
I believe this will fail to achieve a double digits start for the royal talent involved.
The Good Liar opening weekend prediction: $6 million
The pitch is a rebooted cinematic version of the Charlie’s Angels franchise, but I suspect its opening gross will be far from perfect. Elizabeth Banks directs and costars with Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska in the three lead roles. The supporting cast includes Djimon Hounsou, Sam Claflin, and Patrick Stewart.
In the early 2000s, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu brought the 1970s TV hit to the big screen with McG directing. The first entry in 2000 took in $125 million while the 2003 sequel earned $100 million.
Expectations are not as high this time around. While Stewart has been making the rounds (including an SNL hosting gig), I believe this could fall victim to the franchise fatigue we’ve already witnessed in 2019 with the Men in Black and Terminator series, to name a couple.
I would anticipate a #2 debut behind Ford v Ferrari and I question whether Angels can handle a start of over $20 million… or even $15 million.
Charlie’s Angels opening weekend prediction: $14.2 million
Zooming into theaters next weekend is Ford v Ferrari, which recounts the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in the mid 1960s. James Mangold, taking a break from Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine spinoffs, directs. Matt Damon and Christian Bale lead the cast that includes Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, and Noah Jupe.
Ford hit the film festival circuit a couple months back to solid reviews (88% on Rotten Tomatoes) and buzz that it could nab a Best Picture nod. It’s said to be an audience pleaser and it should have an edge over Charlie’s Angels, another high profile pic opening against it.
That said, I do believe some of the $30 million plus forecasts out there are a bit rosy. I keep thinking of Ron Howard’s 2013 Rush, which covered similar subject matter. It also had fine reviews, but sputtered with just a $10 million wide premiere. Make no mistake – this has more star power and looks destined to at least double that gross.
I’ll say mid 20s is where this lands as it hopes to keep adult audiences coming in later weekends (especially if the awards talk comes to fruition).
Ford v Ferrari opening weekend prediction: $24.4 million
It’s a busy weekend at the box office as four new titles enter the marketplace: Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, Paul Feig directed rom com Last Christmas, Roland Emmerich made WWII action pic Midway, and John Cena led family comedy Playing with Fire. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on them all here:
Barring a rather major over performance from Christmas, the #1 spot this weekend should go to Doctor Sleep. I’m putting right in its expected range of mid 20s. Reviews are solid though not spectacular and the horror pic may have trouble finding the youth audience that the genre typically depends on. The crowd is likely to skew a bit older due to the classic 1980 Kubrick film it’s following.
There is certainly a shot that Christmas celebrates a higher start than my mid teens projection, but the best hope could be for small drops in the weekends ahead.
Those two newbies seemed destined to hold the 1-2 positions as Terminator: Dark Fate had a dim start last weekend. While I don’t see it dropping in the plus 60s range like Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Men in Black International did over the summer, a mid 50s fall is feasible. That could put it in a close race for third with Midway in the low teens.
Harriet came in on the plus side of its expectations and I foresee a dip in the low to mid 30s. That could put it close to where I expect final newcomer Fire to hit and where the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil earnings are.
With all this activity, let’s expand that top five to eight, shall we?
1. Doctor Sleep
Predicted Gross: $24.8 million
2. Last Christmas
Predicted Gross: $16.9 million
3. Terminator: Dark Fate
Predicted Gross: $13.2 million
4. Midway
Predicted Gross: $13 million
5. Joker
Predicted Gross: $9.1 million
6. Playing with Fire
Predicted Gross: $7.9 million
7. Harriet
Predicted Gross: $7.7 million
8. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Predicted Gross: $7.2 million
Box Office Results (November 1-3)
The reunification of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton hit #1 as expected, but its premiere was a major disappointment. Dark Fate took in $29 million, well below forecasts (including my $38.1 million take). While that doesn’t quite mark the previous franchise low of 2015’s Genisys at $27 million (which actually hit low 40s in a five-day holiday rollout), it’s clear that the fate of this will be as a big financial loser domestically.
Joker was second with $13.5 million, a touch more than my $12.2 million prediction. Its total is an incredible $299 million.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was close behind in third with $13 million, reaching beyond my $10.2 million projection for an $85 million tally.
As mentioned, Harriet hit its mark (and might have saved Cynthia Erivo’s Oscar chances) with $11.6 million. I was lower at $8.2 million. Look for this to have smallish declines as it achieved an A+ Cinemascore grade.
The Addams Family rounded out the top five at $8.2 million (I said $7 million) for a snappy haul of $85 million.
The weekend’s other newbies both struggled at the bottom of the top ten. Motherless Brooklyn was ninth at just $3.5 million, in line with my $3.2 million prediction. The animated Arctic Dogs was a bad, bad performer in tenth with $2.9 million (less than my $4.5 million projection).
Yes, there’s an apt comparison to be made between Good Boys and 2007’s Superbad. This is kind of the middle school version of that movie from over a decade ago. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the latter and they serve as producers here. Both involve young boys with their dirty minds trying to make it to a party that they view as potentially life changing (all events are greatly elevated in status at these ages).
What both get right is portraying the naïveté of their central characters. They may talk a good game in their minds, but there’s a whole lot about sex and drugs that they simply don’t understand yet. There’s inherent humor in that. Plenty of raunchy youth comedies are simply in it for the gross out humor. Another layer exists here and it’s one of sweetness to occasionally balance out the R rated aspects.
Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams), and Thor (Brady Noon) have just entered the wild world of middle school. Their curiosity level when it comes to girls, beer, and after school get togethers is in peak form. They christen themselves The Beanbag Boys since a good chunk of their lives are spent playing games and conversing while sitting on them. Max has a crush on a fellow student and might have an opportunity to make his move at a party that the cool kids invite him to. Thor is more interested in excelling at the school musical (an ill conceived pint size rendering of Rock of Ages), but struggles with that since the cool kids don’t think that’s cool. Lucas has a happy life that’s disrupted by parental divorce. He’s unlikely to ever be the cool kid and doesn’t quite know that yet.
The boys friendship is tested over a long day where they skip school, steal Max’s dad’s fancy drone, and turn into amateur ecstasy dealers so they don’t get in deeper trouble (it all makes sense in context). The laugh ratio here is pretty high as the trio must learn about kissing (the porn sites they go don’t help much) and dealing with college kids to score drugs.
Tremblay is the famous kid of the bunch as he’s known for his impressive serious work in Room and Wonder. He gets to drop some F bombs for the first time and he looks precocious doing it. I would say it’s Williams, however, that shines the brightest. The couple scenes with his splitting parents are comedic highlights. They display what makes Good Boys work best. It’s funny, but with an undertone of these kids learning the real world for the first time. Like Superbad, the central figures come to discover life will exist beyond their childhood friendships. It takes plenty of crass jokes to get them there, but those gags work more often than they don’t.
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