A profane romp about – but not necessarily for - the pre-teen crowd, 2019’s Good Boys introduces us to three 11-year-old lifelong pals. Self-dubbed “The Bean Bag Boys”, this clan includes Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon).

Newly-anointed sixth graders, each Bean Bag Boy encounters a personal dilemma. For Max, he debates how far he should go to indicate his romantic interest in classmate Brixlee (Millie Davis).

Thor possesses a great singing voice, but he bristles at the notion of a major role in the school’s upcoming production of Rock of Ages because he fears this’ll dent his already non-existent “cool quotient”. Lucas seems happy to remain a kid and appears disinterested in coolness or romance, but his life changes dramatically when his parents (Lil Rel Howery and Retta) announce their plans to divorce.

When alpha kid Soren (Izaac Wang) invites Max to his upcoming co-ed “kissing party”, Max ensures that his pals can come along as well. Nervous about the potential lip-locking, the boys decide to research smooching techniques.

When the Internet fails to help, they decide to use an expensive drone that belongs to Max’s dad (Will Forte) to spy on teen neighbor Hannah (Molly Gordon). This goes poorly, as Hannah resents this intrusion into her privacy and traps the drone.

Because Max was forbidden to touch his dad’s drone, he becomes terrified at the outcome if he doesn’t quickly retrieve the gizmo. This leads the boys on a wild adventure as they brave a slew of challenges to achieve their goals.

That’s a longer than usual synopsis from me, but I think the story needs it. Rather than act as simple window-dressing, the character elements add a lot to the movie, so they require discussion.

Going into Good Boys, I expected little. In fact, I felt semi-bothered by the premise as promised in the trailers, as I didn’t like the way it took a notion usually reserved for high school or college-aged kids and adapted it for pre-teens.

I’m not easily offended, but the “slippery slope” concept got to me. First we get a raunchy movie about pre-teens, and what’s next, a profane romp that stars Kindergartners?

Those concerns didn’t evaporate as I watched Good Boys, but because the filmmakers wisely chose to give the lead characters an aura of innocence, the end result seems less seedy than anticipated. All three offer varying degrees of ignorance about the ways of the world, and this factor ensures that the film never becomes an ugly affair.

Indeed, Good Boys really brings us a coming of age story gussied up in raunchy comedy duds. While the naughty bits bring in the viewers, the movie often seems more concerned with the bonds of pre-teen friendship and their tenuous nature.

These elements add much-needed heart to the film. As I alluded, the movie’s previews offer virtually no hint that the flick will become anything other than 90-minutes of raunchy laughs, so the emergence of deeper character information allows it to turn into something more endearing.

This may come at the expense of laughs, though, as Good Boys seems considerably less knee-slapping than anticipated. A lot of that stems from the trailers, as those used up a lot of the movie’s prime comedic bits.

In addition, I just don’t love the style of humor on display, so Good Boys provides the best laughs when it goes subtle. It doesn’t do so often, but the times it chooses smarter gags work the best.

Though the young actors give their all, I suspect more seasoned performers would better wring humor out of the material. So impressive in 2015’s Room, Tremblay proves more than adequate as Max, but he doesn’t show great comedic chops.

Still, Tremblay brings warmth and personality to his role. Given how easily Max could come across as a smug prick like some of the “cool kids” such as Soren, Tremblay deserves credit.

Of the three leads, though, Williams easily fares best. He delivers a natural, easy-going charm as the one Bean Bag Boy who remains most true to himself, and Williams’ ability to play the scenes for honesty instead of for overt laughs results in many of the movie’s funniest bits. The kid knows better than to shoot for easy guffaws and his performance benefits.

Good Boys offers something different than expected, and the movie benefits. Rather than indulge in nothing more than cheap raunch, the film goes for deeper emotions and these make it fairly endearing.

Good Boys appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. No concerns cropped up here.

Sharpness was excellent. From start to finish, the flick presented crisp, concise images without any issues connected to softness.

Jagged edges and shimmering didn’t occur, and edge enhancement remained absent. Source flaws also failed to present any problems, as the movie offered a clean image.

In terms of colors, the film favored a light mix of teal and amber. I thought the hues looked fine, as they were solid within the design parameters.

Blacks seemed deep and tight, while shadows were good, as low-light images felt smooth. I thought this was a consistently high-quality presentation.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it seemed satisfactory. It favored the usual “comedy mix” and didn’t present chances for the soundscape to explode.

We did find a few broader scenes – such as on the highway – but the track usually opted for stereo music and general environmental material. Though these didn’t seem exciting, they opened up the piece in a satisfying manner.

I thought audio quality appeared positive. Speech seemed distinctive and natural, with no rough tones or other issues.

Score and songs displayed clear, warm music, and effects functioned well. Those elements were reasonably realistic and full throughout the movie, so this ended up as a low-key but workable mix.

We get a good mix of extras here, and we begin with an audio commentary from writer/director Gene Stupnitsky and writer Lee Eisenberg. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing/alternate scenes, and related topics.

Every once in a while, Stupnitsky and Eisenberg offer some production insights. However, they usually just seem entertained by the film, and they also go silent an awful lot of the time. Chalk up this chat as a dull disappointment.

In addition to an Alternate Ending (2:00), we find 11 Deleted/Extended Scenes (10:26). The “Ending” offers minor alterations, as it places Max with a different girlfriend.

The “Ending” also fades in a way that lacks the connection to the film’s coda as well. I prefer this version, as it feels a bit more natural than the cheap laughs of the existing conclusion.

As for the “Scenes”, none of them present any kind of significant character or story elements – well, other than a disheartening twist at the kissing party. Some funny moments arise, such as Lucas’s call to customer service and the tech store saleswoman’s attempts to jack up the price of the drone.

A Gag Reel spans two minutes, seven seconds and presents goofs and giggles. A few alternate lines appear to add some value, but don’t expect much.

Six featurettes follow, and Boys For Real runs three minutes, 12 seconds and brings comments from Stupnitsky, Eisenberg, producers James Weaver and Josh Fagen, and actors Brady Noon, Jacob Tremblay, and Midori Francis. They discuss casting the three lead actors in this fairly fluffy piece.

With Welcome to Vancouver, we find a one-minute, seven second segment that features Weaver, Fagen, Stupnitsky, Eisenberg, Noon, Tremblay, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and actor Keith L. Williams. We learn Canada is fun in this forgettable clip.

Next comes the two-minute, 41-second A Fine Line. It offers notes from Tremblay, Weaver, Fagen, Stupnitsky, Eisenberg, Rogen, Goldberg, Noon, Francis, Williams, and actor Molly Gordon. “Line” covers the movie’s pre-teen profanity and becomes a moderately interesting take.

Ask Your Parents goes for two minutes, seven seconds and shows Rogen, Goldberg, Gordon, Francis, Weaver, Fagen, Stupnitsky, Eisenberg, and Tremblay. “Parents” looks at the adult concepts the kids deal with and their reactions. Like “Line”, it gives us a few fun insights.

During the one-minute, 45-second Bad Girls, we hear from Gordon, Francis, Rogen, Goldberg, Stupnitsky, Eisenberg, Weaver and Fagen. Like the title implies, we view the movie’s antagonistic females. It turns into a passable but short take.

Finally, Guest Stars fills two minutes, 39 seconds with remarks from Rogen, Tremblay, Weaver, Fagen, Williams, Stupnitsky, Eisenberg, Goldberg, and actors Will Forte and Stephen Merchant. We focus on well-known actors in small roles. It tells us little but some alternate lines entertain.

The disc opens with ads for Little and Undercover Brother 2. No trailer for Good Boys appears here.

A second disc brings a DVD copy of Good Boys. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.

Sold to movie-goers as a profane raunch-fest, Good Boys indeed comes with plenty of that sort of material. However, it also manages to give us a winning tale of young friendship that makes it more engaging than it could have been. The Blu-ray boasts excellent visuals along with adequate audio and a decent mix of bonus materials. Good Boys becomes a pretty amusing work.