Reviews

"Good Kids" understands coming-of-age comedies and really nails some aspects of it, but the road there is too bumpy for it to be anything but a missed opportunity.

The cast of four friends all stand out in their own ways but don't feel manufactured or like too much of a trope. Nora's the closest, as the beautiful girl who everyone suddenly realizes is beautiful, but they navigate that well and Zoey Deutch being the best part of the film helps that case even more. They feel real, and that's really, really tough to do with a group of close friends at this age group.

Andy being kind of an asshole made him more endearing in a strange way, I guarantee you know someone as odd as Lion and Spice's character and story is very straightforward and normal, which was needed.

They nail the charm I love about these types of movies. There are little things like Nora making it weird when Andy admits he has feelings, Andy catching the food with his mouth and the online girl actually being real, very attractive and down with Andy are all nice touches.

There are two scenes in particular, though, that are terrific.

First, Andy's sit-down with Conch and the reveal that his friend group wasn't "the weirdo outcasts everyone thought were just that," but, rather, everyone thought they were fine and they were actually the ones separating themselves from the parties and everyone else at the school. That was excellent and a properly executed curveball that didn't change much, but gave the story some great perspective.

Second, the last scene in the movie. Andy showing up to college is perfection. I can't explain all of it, but the entire scene captures what it is like to show up to a university after a questionable high school experience. Andy looks out the window with excitement and curiosity. He sees his parents drive away and realizes he's going to miss them and this is really happening. Then, someone makes him feel comfortable (w/ a good callback to the food catching) and he realizes he's in a new space with new, different people that is going to produce the best years of his life. That doesn't pinpoint the framework here, but god damn is it great.

And that gave me a very strong bittersweet feeling once the credits rolled. Nothing in this movie hits from a plot perspective. Andy is a virgin outcast in the beginning of the movie who immediately has a smokeshow throw herself at him, gets to have sex with a bunch of hot moms for money and then has his gorgeous, fascinating best friend fall for him before he goes off to college. Nothing interesting happens outside of Andy's story, and that's a shame, because his feels as fake as some parts of this movie feel real.

Simply put, this is one of the best if not the best episode of Skins ever. It may be hard to place it at first, but the subtleties of Jack O Connell's performance make you love Cook and add dimensions to his character that we did not even know were possible.

Let's not try to sugarcoat it, Cook was a dick all of series 3. There was no other side to his character at all besides his screwed up love story with Effy, and his featured episode was just to show how crazy he truly was. This episode however, does something I didn't see coming the first time and add layers to his character. They are so wonderfully done by Jack O' Connell and by whoever recommended these movements (writer, director, etc.).

I've mentioned this twice now, so I'll get to examples. We still see Cook being an asshole, such as his line to his little brother "never say sorry, you're not a pussy are ya?" There are others, like him wanting to plead not guilty, and then expecting his apology to the kid he kicked the crap out of to be enough (although an apology from Cook to a stranger could be considered something out of the ordinary for him as well). But then, Cook does these little things like that big breath before entering the common room at the school, as if to get himself back into character. There's the look he gives to his little brother after seeing him jump on the car, suggesting that he actually realizes the damage he's done and that this kid isn't as screwed up as he is just yet. The stuff at the end with Naomi also qualifies, and the actual innocence he showed with his mom at her art showing was so surreal. Did you ever think we would see Cook associated with innocence after seres 3?!?

The scene in the office trumps everything however, and might be my favorite scene in the show's history. Cook is finally admitting all his wrongs, and has finally reached his breaking point with his ways. It's not like he didn't deserve it, but everything Cook said about everyone "pissing: on him was 100% true and the way it was acted out and written made you feel heart broken for him. How is that possible when Cook probably deserved everyone to "piss" on him? He then gets yelled at to explain why he his the kid. In the best way Cook can, he explains that all he wanted to do after feeling heart break was hit someone, and the way O' Connell depicted it all this was nothing short of phenomenal.

After that, Cook sacrifices himself for nothing really besides Naomi's peace of mind and doing something right for once. The look in on Cook at the jail and his trial, plus the conversation with Effy and her head nod at the end suggest that Cook finally found closure in something he had done and was not going to get "pissed on" anymore.

Cook appeared to be a simple douche of a character with his wild style and his love thing with Effy, but we saw many different sides of Cook in this episode. With that in mind and the style of the episodes in this show, that's why I believe this was one of the best episodes of this show and an instant classic.