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Good Boy is not to be confused with Good Boy. Good Boy is a dog-themed horror movie. Meanwhile, Good Boy is a “dog”-themed horror movie. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s take a look at Good Boy.
Not that one, the other one. Keep up, Boomer!
Tell me again how many touchdowns you threw for in Nazi-occupied France?
Good Boy
Good Boy is a Norwegian film (or, a “Swede” film according to Saint MacReady). It is written and directed by Viljar Bøe.
“Ah, yes,” they say. “Viljar Bøe, a pillar of the Norwegian film community, that one…”
Good Boy stars Gard Løkke, Katrine Lovise Øpstad Fredriksen and Nicolai Narvesen Lied.
“Ah, yes,” they say. “Many is the time I have been entertained by the Norwegian-ness of those three. Their talent flows like a fjord…”
The plot of Good Boy is thus:
Boy (Gard) meets girl (Katrine) on a dating app. Girl learns that boy has a dog. Said dog is an unusual breed — not as rare as a Bergamasco Shepherd andcorded Komondor or anything like that. Rather, the dog is a man in a Furry suit (Nicolai).
“Ah, yes,” they say. “Furries…truly one of the most majestic of the mentally ill folk…”
The Long Kiss Goodnight Boy
All of this is revealed in the first fifteen minutes, so it is not really a spoiler. Katrine meets Gard, who comes off as a bit shy but very handsome. They hit it off and go back to his place to see who is the biggest whore.
It’s a tie.
Katrine wakes up the next morning and meets Nicolai, who crawls around on all fours, barks, eats from a bowl and probably matriculates on fire hydrants for all we know. Katrine is taken aback and trots her easy behind out of there.
But then…Katrine learns Gard is not only very handsome. He is also very rich. This motivates her to literally do the meme! And that other meme!
Good show, Viljar Bøe! This development elicited a guffaw. Katrine’s decision to go for looks and money (despite a bloodred crimson flag) does not come off in a Sex in the City-you go girl-get yours! kind of way. Rather, Katrine is a simple girl, albeit a bit directionless and ditzy. She obviously views Gard as a way to jump off the single plane with a golden parachute and goes for it like a 501st paratrooper on D-Day. It’s a tale as old as time.
GERONIMO!
Eventually, Gard, Katrine and the dog take off for a weekend in the country and things go…awry.
Good Boy Fellas
Performances do not break new ground, but they are in their lane.
Gard comes off as the love child of Tom Brady and Christopher Waltz. He gets the most to do within the film. He has to come off as desirable to women, by being handsome and rich, and portray a responsible dog owner. Viewers will firmly believe he is the type who will bag up his doggie doo and dispose of it properly.
Katrine does what is required of her. She genuinely has to walk a delicate line. Her character has to be stupid enough to try to make it work with a guy who owns a Furry while not turning the viewer off with her idiocy being too overt.
As for Nicolai, what can you say? He approached the role with a dogged determination.
If Old Yellar was like this, the ending would be a happy one…
The Good Boy, the Bad and the Ugly
Good Boy is not elite. A director with more vision could surely mine its story for more suspense. Yet it is effective within loosened tolerances.
The first and second act work okay as Viljar Bøe keeps things workmanlike and lets the ambiguity of the demented proceedings do the heavy lifting. Once the weekend in the country comes into play, Good Boy takes a turn into more standard fare and becomes an uninspired game of cat and mouse…or is that dog and cat?
The climax of Good Boy is also a bit janky. It does not generate the necessary energy and is built on characters taking questionable courses of action. Nevertheless, the film ends with an effective stinger that leaves the viewer reeling.
So, who wins in the battle of the dog-themed horror films? Good Boy or Good Boy? I’ll go with Good Boy…
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