Score: B
Directed by Andrew DeYoung
Starring Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara
Running time: 97 minutes
Rated R
Long Story Short: In his first starring movie role, Tim Robinson brings his unique, jarring brand of humor to Hollywood, teamed with the more comfort-food familiarity of Paul Rudd. As the title suggests, the movie focuses on the importance and deceptive difficulty of friendship in modern life. Those who are familiar with Robinson’s sketches will be prepared for (though perhaps not predict) the surreal comical surprises as the main relationship goes off the rails. Not for everyone’s tastes but if you know what you’re getting into or just want to try something new, go see this.
Craig (Robinson) is feeling down in life, ready to pull up stakes and start fresh. One day by chance, however, he receives a package delivered to him in error. When he walks it over to the correct home, Craig meets Austin (Rudd) who unexpectedly becomes an interesting new friend. Craig, married with a son, is an introvert by nature, but Austin shows him the many simple pleasures of bonding. However, no relationship, no matter how magical, is perfect, and Craig’s insecurities begin to come to the surface. The way he handles the ups and downs of this friendship will have major ramifications for his entire life.
Friendship is at times pretty amusing and subtly insightful, but Robinson’s odd humor is a tricky fit in a full length film, and it ends up feeling somewhat scattered. Robinson, if you haven’t seen him, has a unique blend of deadpan absurdity: he has a fun mini-sketch show on Netflix, if you want to get a taste. Friendship is an attempt to adapt this style from individual sketch scenes to the extended tone and themes of a full-length drama. The narrative concept and several scenes and moments throughout the film are successful, but the overall cohesion and feel come up a bit short. I liked the very simple premise: a lonely man whose life is slowly falling apart meets a neighbor and develops an unexpected friendship, helping him to bounce back. It’s interesting how Craig then becomes obsessed and insecure, his flaws (and loosening inhibitions) hurting the friendship and leading to a downward spiral (Robinson is great as a put-upon every man which also leads to hilariously over-the-top scenes, such as a suddenly escalated confrontation at a party, and a marketing pitch to a politician gone awry). Little moments can be quite funny or at least clever: delicately carrying a full mug of tea (I can relate!), carting a drum set to his friend’s house - and a secret sewer adventure is definitely a highlight.
Despite a clever setup and some good moments, though, the film’s non-comedy threads fray as it goes on, and Craig’s complete collapse when his friendship goes sideways transforms the movie from sly social commentary to something closer to parody. No comedies expect you to laugh at every turn (at least, they shouldn’t) but more often than usual for the genre, the moments or scenes here that are intended purely for plot or showing the characters’ “normal” lives come off a bit awkwardly, particularly when contrasted with the sudden, bizarre comedic moments. Admittedly, the filmmakers manage to meld the drama early on somewhat well, but it stands out more and more frequently. The build-up of Craig and Austin’s friendship is done well, both its humor and relatability, and even the moment of breakdown when Craig meets Austin’s larger friend group (though it starts to get weirder here). Events turn more extreme as Craig’s desperation rises, and also fairly fragmented and inconsistent, plot-wise; while there are some good moments of humor from this, the story around it starts to fall apart. Still, all in all, it’s a worthy attempt at a new kind of comedy with plenty of entertainment and some thought-provoking concepts surrounding modern, well, friendships.
***
Having seen and enjoyed Tim Robinson before, I was intrigued by the idea of his starring in a movie and so I’ve looked forward to Friendship for a little while now. I’m not exactly disappointed by the results: sure, it could have been better, but it’s a perfectly solid effort and a nice change of pace. I hope that we see Robinson in more movies. Still, I’m mystified by some critics’ fawning over the movie, calling it (as seen in the movie’s marketing) the funniest movie they’ve seen in years or ever. Slow down. It provided some good variety for me at the movie theater this summer - since most of what I will see is probably going to be blockbuster action stuff. I certainly don’t recommend this for everyone, but if you have a taste for modern humor, especially if you’re already familiar with (and fond of) Tim Robinson, you should give this a try.
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