Hollywood dips into the Superbad/Booksmart well one more time with Tweeners and the results are predictable. All the best jokes were wasted in the trailer. Did I mention these are the morons who gave us the unfunny Sausage Party? Well, I warned you.
As I mentioned earlier we have three Tweeners dealing with the transition to middle school or junior high or however it works for Pubbies (what we Parochials call the public-school kids). This trio of Max, Lucas and Thor have been best friends since Kindergarten and two weeks in, sixth grade is straining their bond. Max likes a girl, Lucas’ parents are divorcing and Thor is trying to avoid a lifetime, derogatory nickname.
Their unremarkable journey is initiated by a cool kid inviting them to a party in which there will be kissing; allegedly, today’s Tweeners still play Spin-the-Bottle…according to the writers. I for one have no idea, I’m amazed some even pull their faces away from their phones long enough to avoid starvation. These pre-party jitters lead them to skipping school, going to a mall, stealing some teenagers’ drugs, blah blah blah. Then comes the predictable tropes. Lucas is a stickler for rules which makes him the square-ass. Thor thinks he’s cool but he isn’t, especially for having a great singing voice and really wanting to audition for the Fall musical, the equally uninteresting School of Rock. Max is now at the girl-crazy age and this makes him the de facto leader driving their quest.
So if you’ve sat through Superbad (not funny) or Booksmart (actually clever, not all its jokes were spent in the trailer)…you don’t need to watch Good Boys. You saw it unless you have to see the same crap play out with three instead of two kids and Will Forte is still there again as the over-understanding Dad with poor boundaries.
Did anything funny happen? Honestly? The cheap shots taken with Thor’s parents’ sex toys were about it. Otherwise, there are much, much better movies to see to on HBO Max to get through the Pandemic with.