Seth Rogen: How Good Boys producer went from schlubby slacker to comedy saviour

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It’s most evident in the shocked reaction to the success of Good Boys, which Rogen brought to the screen with his long-time producing partner Evan Goldberg, and that this weekend grossed $21m at the US box office and became the first R-rated comedy to open at number one since 2016. It was an enjoyable on-screen persona cultivated by comedy super-producer Judd Apatow eight years earlier, after Rogen, then a teenage stand-up on the Vancouver comedy circuit, landed an audition for Apatow’s teen comedy series Freaks and Geeks and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. I’ve had people come up to me and be like, ‘That made me feel like s*** when I was in the movie theatre and everyone was laughing about that.’ Like the ‘How I know you’re gay’ thing, it’s something people have been like, ‘It’s not fun to be in the theatre when people are laughing at that, knowing what they’re probably actually laughing at.’ And I don’t want anyone to have that experience watching our movies.” Long Shot, his May romantic comedy with Charlize Theron, didn’t set the box office alight, but it demonstrated how dedicated Rogen was to improving upon his weaker impulses a decade ago. That Good Boys has been a surprise smash, already earning back its $20m budget in a single weekend, helps confirm that the mainstream comedy film isn’t dead – and, if anything, that Seth Rogen is its new king.