Friendship Review: Flat Character Study Sinks Cringe Comedy

Yahoo

2 days ago

HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Friendship is a cringe comedy from A24 that is deeply unpleasant to watch, and even though that is intentional, its flat character arc and poor character study make it even more difficult to enjoy.
Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, Friendship stars Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, and Kate Mara. Robinson plays Craig, a suburban dad who attempts to make friends with a charismatic weatherman (Rudd), but jealousy and total social awkwardness lead to increasing desperation until the friendship essentially poisons the protagonist's life.
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Robinson plays awkward and social ineptitude quite well, and to the degree that the humor works, it's because Robinson is not afraid to look ridiculous. Some of the loud line deliveries are funny, but most turn cringe comedy into just plain cringe. A scene in which Craig puts soap in his mouth and says he's been a 'bad boy' just feels uncomfortable, but when he's playing off repeatedly breaking a sliding glass door, it works well. Comedy is one of the more subjective art forms, so audiences' mileage will vary, but for me, most of Friendship's attempts at comedy did not work.
Cringe comedy as a genre is closely related to comedies of manners, and the points of those good comedies of manners are to either lampoon or reinforce social niceties. Friendship reinforces basic social dynamics, but it's a shallow depiction, and nothing about what Craig does is particularly clever or insightful.
The good comedies can work as dramas or compelling character studies. Friendship tries to be a character study, but the character is inconsistent. Craig, as we get to know him, is so abrasive and socially inept that it makes no sense that he has a wife and a seemingly successful career. Craig within the A to B of Friendship's story does not fit with the Craig who has accomplished what he has before the story begins.
And Craig's arc in Friendship is rather flat. He begins the film as a put-upon doofus who seeks approval from people who will never grant it, and he essentially ends the film still seeking that approval – though, in fairness, the lengths that he goes to in order to gain that approval escalate dramatically.
Friendship implies that everybody is just as insecure as Craig. Paul Rudd brilliantly plays a moment in which his character's insecurity is briefly revealed, but the film doesn't develop that theme beyond an initial reveal and brief callback.
Ultimately, most audiences' enjoyment of Friendship will depend upon their patience with cringe comedy. If it generally works for you, then you might find more to enjoy about Friendship than I did. But doubtlessly, it's not a particularly deep or compelling film, and without a good dramatic arc, any thoughts about Friendship do not last long.
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