The sort of films that get called "anarchic" have to strike a tricky balance, often when it's clear the cast and crew were having as much fun as possible MAKING a movie, the actual result gets lost and the audience ends up watching a rambling, aimless and pointless collection of footage. If the balance is struck however, we can end up with a blast of a film that entertains the viewers at least as much as the filmmakers were entertained making it. Thankfully, "Boyz in the Wood" gets it so, so right.
The closest reference of what one could expect coming into this movie is Taika Waititi's brilliant hit "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". Like the NZ film, here we have a showcase of the rugged scenery of the country (the Scottish Highlands in this case) serving as the backdrop for a crazy story involving too-urban-for-the-bush, hip-hop obsessed, cursing teens and overzealous, bored police, along with other random characters that are more set-ups for the next punchline and crazy plot point than they are "real people living in their world" (and there's nothing wrong with that). There's some "Hot Fuzz" (and general Edgar Wright-ness) thrown in for good measure what with its very exaggerated conflict of old and traditional British values and the new generations taken to the extreme and the "big-budget Hollywood flair in small-budget Britain" attitude. Ridiculous psychotropic imagery that is the natural step after the cartoony drug sequences of "21/22 Jump Street" finishes off the cocktail.
If this review comes off as more of a list of references than an analysis of the film, that is because this is not the kind of movie that invites that depth of thought (although like with all forms of art, if you dig you'll find, and there's plenty to dig here with the very old-fashioned villains chasing our young protagonists, echoes of young Scots' ever-stronger desire for independence resounding through the glen, but... meh). This ride is wild, hilarious, brave in its indifference to convention and best when served cold, without too clear an idea what to expect. The previous references are little more than an "if you enjoyed these titles, we suggest the following" algorithm, if you DID enjoy the previous titles, you definitely want be in the hunt for this new game.
P.S., while the soundtrack is brilliant, I must say that for a hip-hop-heavy, Scottish film, this was sadly light on Young Fathers and thus one of the reasons for the just-less-than-perfect score.
