Best friends Max (Jacob Tremblay), Lucas (Keith L. Williams), and Thor (Brady Noon) are heading into the 6th grade. The Bean Bag Boys, as they call themselves, are willing to do just about anything to fit in with the cool kids. One of the cool kids, Soren (Isaac Wang) invites the boys to come to a kissing party at his house. The only problem, none of the Bean Bag Boys know how to kiss. Not wanting to embarrass themselves, they decide to take Max’s dad’s (Will Forte) drone, which he is forbidden to touch, to spy on their teenage neighbor Hannah (Molly Gordon) and her boyfriend making out.

The trouble starts when Hannah and her friend Lily (Midori Francis) find out the boys are spying on them. The boys skip school to set out on an adventure that involves busy freeways, adult toys, frat boys, medical emergencies, drugs, and a cop. And they have to do it all before Max’s dad gets home. It’s quite the challenge for the Bean Bag Boys. On top of that, the boys are starting to discover who they are.

Part Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, part Pineapple Express, part Superbad, Good Boys has potential. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t quite deliver.

Putting kids in adult situations can be an easy recipe for laughs. However, when it is an hour and a half of that premise, it can get a little tired. Don’t get me wrong, there are some genuinely funny parts that will having you laugh out loud. The scene in the frat house is choreographed and directed just about perfectly. It may be the highlight of the film. But as the movie goes on, watching 12 year olds going on about sipping beers, using adult toys completely innocently, and swearing, it gets a bit awkward.

I’m not sure if the fault lies more with the writing or the stilted acting of the kids, but Good Boys just can’t live up to its potential. It is a disappointment in the same vein as Sausage Party, coincidentally from the same creative group. If you’re dying to see a bunch of 12 year olds pretend they’re high schoolers, at least wait until it’s available at the Redbox. Sadly, it’s just not worth paying to see it in the theater.