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Geek Tyrant
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Review: FRIENDSHIP is a Cringe-Fueled Comedy Fever Dream That Was Hilarious — GeekTyrant
I went into Friendship knowing it was going to be awkward. Like, deeply awkward and strange. But I was still not prepared for just how intensely cringe-inducing it would get. There were moments so uncomfortable I literally had to look away. I couldn't watch! And yet, through all the squirming, I was laughing my ass off. Somehow, this dark comedy manages to weaponize discomfort in the funniest way possible. It's one of the rare movies that had me laughing harder than anything I've seen in a long time. Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson are a match made in unhinged comedy heaven. Rudd plays it cool and enigmatic as Austin, a charming new neighbor, while Robinson turns in a beautifully unfiltered performance as Craig, a man whose social desperation bleeds through every word and movement. The thing about Robinson is that he doesn't come off like he's trying to be funny, he just is. He commits so hard to his weird, volatile character that you're not sure whether to laugh, cry, or both. Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, you can absolutely feel Robinson's fingerprints all over it. The tone, the rhythm, the way scenes spiral into total chaos, it's all very in line with the kind of comedy he's become known for. That anxious, almost manic energy gives the movie its pulse. It never lets you settle. You're either tensed up, waiting for the next social misfire, or doubled over from how far it pushes a bit. At its core, Friendship is a wild, laugh-until-you-cry nightmare about male bonding gone very, very wrong. What starts as a quirky bromance fueled by late-night adventures, garage punk, and an oddly specific passion for paleolithic relics turns into something way more deranged. One minute you're smiling at a sweet moment of connection; the next, you're watching Craig spiral so far out of control, you're genuinely concerned for everyone involved. The movie plays like a suburban noir filtered through a blender of midlife dread and existential comedy. It's sharp, it's weird, and it's not afraid to be aggressively uncomfortable. But there's also something deeply relatable buried under the absurdity. That gnawing feeling of loneliness, the desperate urge to connect with someone—anyone—and the way people can completely unravel when that connection slips through their fingers. It's all there, wrapped in layers of insanity. Friendship isn't going to work for everyone. If you don't have a taste for humor that lives and dies on social disaster and secondhand embarrassment, you might spend the whole film squirming without the payoff. But for those of us who enjoy our comedy weird, raw, and painfully human, this is a blast. It's a total trainwreck in the best way—and I couldn't look away. Except when I absolutely had to.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
In Dark Comedies Like ‘Friendship,' Bad Bromance Brews
'Men shouldn't have friends,' reads the provocative tagline of the uncomfortable new comedy 'Friendship' (in theaters), from the writer-director Andrew DeYoung. That tongue-in-cheek statement seems to respond to the deranged lengths Craig (Tim Robinson), a suburban father and husband trapped in a dull routine, will go to feel validated by his much-cooler neighbor, Austin (Paul Rudd). Even as bizarre as the pair's encounters become, an improbable but genuine loyalty develops between them in the end. But 'Pineapple Express' this is not. The last decade has seen several American indie tragicomedies that, like 'Friendship,' explore complicated platonic relationships between men with insight that the mainstream brom-coms that were hugely popular in the 2000s weren't interested in. These new films stir up a kind of bad bromance. Movies such as 'The Climb' (2020), 'Donald Cried' (2017) and 'On the Count of Three' (2022) interrogate toxic masculinity and approach the mechanics of male bonding with searing incisiveness, while still making time for laughs. In these stories, men grapple with regret, forgiveness and their darkest feelings as they relate to their best bros. And because of that, these indies work almost like an antithesis to a movie like 'I Love You, Man' (2009), which suggests that Paul Rudd's character, Peter, has lost touch with his primal manliness after spending too much time around women his whole life. Instead of intellectualizing his yearning for a close friend, Peter chooses to embrace the simple-minded pleasures of hanging out with his new rough-around-the-edges pal Sydney (Jason Segel). That he meets Sydney casually, rather than in one of the more formal 'man dates' he had planned, implies male connections operate on a more superficial level. In Hollywood movies like 'I Love You, Man,' 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and 'The Hangover,' the laughs often emerged from raunchiness, while in 'Friendship' and other indie bromances, humor is derived from absurdity but comes laced with introspection. It's telling that even when addressing men's desire for nonromantic companionship and intimacy, these neo-bromances resort to cringe-worthy humor. Like their more mainstream counterparts, their approach to fraternal love is not entirely solemn, sometimes poking fun at the prospect. One early scene in 'Friendship' shows Craig spending time with Austin and his larger group of buds. The men in this group appear in touch with their emotions. They are willing to share about their struggles and offer one other meaningful moral support. But this behavior seems foreign to Craig, who ultimately fumbles his chance at being accepted. Later, after Austin decides to break up their friendship, Craig invites his co-workers — men he barely knows or even likes — to his place for a drink and to show them his new drum set. His guests mock him and ignore his request that they don't spoil the latest superhero movie. That behavior reads more like the type of uncommitted and bullying-fueled depictions of platonic male connections onscreen. Here, however, the scene comments on how unfulfilling that interaction is for Craig, who reacts negatively to their cruel teasing by kicking them out. In tone, the closest cinematic cousin to 'Friendship' is Kris Avedisian's brilliantly offbeat 'Donald Cried' (available for rent on major platforms), in which Peter (Jesse Wakeman), a jaded banker, returns to his hometown and reconnects with his socially awkward but winsome high school friend, Donald (played by Avedisian), who has not left the place where they grew up. The reunion slowly reveals the difficult layers of their challenging past, with old wounds floating to the surface for them to either overcome or to never speak of again. In 'The Climb' (available for rent on major platforms), written by and starring the real-life best friends Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, two men begrudgingly attempt to rebuild their friendship after one of them has an affair with the other's girlfriend. When tragedy strikes and destiny brings them back together, they must decide if there's still something between them worth preserving. As it wonderfully straddles laugh-out-loud bits with sorrowful pathos, 'The Climb' dissects the essence of why these two guys love each other even when it seems they shouldn't. The way they complement each other's brokenness only strengthens their bond. Taking the notion of a toxic friendship to its bleakest possible outcome, the comedian Jerrod Carmichael's underrated feature directing debut 'On the Count of Three' (streaming on Hulu), in which he stars alongside Christopher Abbott, deals with a suicide pact. Abbott's bleach-blond Kevin and Carmichael's Val are on a self-destructive journey tacitly encouraging each other's worst impulses against those who've hurt them. Despite the grim premise, the gallows humor peeks through thanks to the pair's affecting performances. This year alone, two more works join the ranks of these flawed bro bonds. In 'Eephus' (available for rent on major platforms), the filmmaker Carson Lund shows how the seemingly tenuous camaraderie between a group of men in a recreational baseball league packs profound gravitas. And then there's Joel Potrykus's unsettling 'Vulcanizadora' (in theaters), about two men (Potrykus and Joshua Burge) committed to a troubling joint mission in a forest. Their time together begins to drown them in guilt. Playing the same friend characters, the two appeared in Potrykus's mind-bending 2015 movie 'Buzzard' (streaming on Fawesome), which also fit this profile of doomed connections. Collectively, these bittersweet films (some more bitter than others) serve as a sort of corrective to the movies that previously brushed aside or stripped away the valuable intricacies of male friendships. That doesn't mean rowdy, physical comedy is completely out the window, but that now, if these friends get into a scuffle, the root of the conflict will be addressed before they hug it out. By exposing the ugly, sometimes tenderness can come to light.
Geek Vibes Nation
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'Friendship' Review - A Hilarious & Uncomfortable Study In Human Connections
Making friends for some people is no easy task, especially as one reaches adulthood. Kids can form relationships from the smallest of encounters. Yet, as fully formed adults, this task can sometimes be associated with awkwardness because insecurities about whether or not we're cool enough can take hold. Add in everyday adult commitments such as jobs and romantic relationships, other matters can take priority over making new friends. Despite this, we all still crave human connection, which Friendship, written by Andrew DeYoung in his directorial debut, explores from a hilarious and more often than not, very uncomfortable lens. DeYoung finds a healthy balance of making the exploration of friendships a funny experience for the viewer while also touching on the very real notion of how disconnected we can all feel from each other. In lesser hands, the film would verge on the absurd, but he finds the heart, even if some of the situations will make viewers wince. The film follows Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson), a typical suburban dad who has no problem living in his comfort zone. He has a wife named Tami (Kate Mara), who has recently beaten cancer and is getting back into the world after being stifled by her disease. She also might be getting back into something with her ex, who happens to be a hunky firefighter. Tami wants Craig to expand his world beyond their relationship, too, and encourages him, in a sense, to make a new friend. A new union is formed when a package meant for their new neighbors ends up on their doorstep. Tami wants Craig to walk the package over to its rightful owner, and that leads to him meeting Austin (Paul Rudd), a seemingly charming individual who hits it off with Craig. After Austin invites Craig over to have a drink after their first encounter, a potential friendship is formed, but Craig becomes so transfixed by Austin that the awkwardness he exhibits to try and fit in begins to take its toll, causing Austin to take a step back. Friendship works because of how identifiable it is. We've all experienced moments where we may have stepped in it to be cool & just came off looking utterly ridiculous. Austin is everything Craig isn't. He seems sure of himself and is naturally charismatic, while Craig seems like a constant work in progress. Austin smokes hand-rolled cigarettes and has a group of intellectual and supportive friends, something Craig lacks. It's easy to feel bad for Craig when he makes more than a few awkward missteps to fit in with Austin's friends. Is it funny? Sure. But that doesn't make it any less uncomfortable and a bit sad to see Craig stumble so much. Robinson plays Craig in a relatable way. Even though he is a good guy, he also shows signs that Austin could reject once they come to the surface. It's an engaging performance that works on more than one level. Robinson is extremely funny because he isn't afraid to make a fool of himself in a way that could make him off-putting. On the other hand, he finds a pathway to our sympathy. Once he feels Austin's rejection and finds it impossible to go back to his life as he knew it before this meaningful platonic friendship, you can feel his pain. As written, Craig is a fully fleshed out character and a great example of even though it seems like you have it all, lacking a sense of community can be isolating and lonely. He has the family, he has an important role at his job & his routine has served him well. However, this routine has cut him off from other meaningful relationships, and getting a taste of this new one with Austin shows him exactly what he has been missing in his life. Craig is so desperate for this new connection that the film shows him frequently walking uphill to Austin's house. Visually, it's funny because it's such a trek, but deeper than that, it shows just how much Craig needs and wants his connection with Austin that he's willing to literally go the distance for him. Rudd has the easier role of the two because, as an actor and persona, he's naturally likable. All he has to do is essentially be an exaggerated version of himself, and the audience understands why Craig is so enamored with him. That doesn't make him any less hilarious, and it's honestly funny to watch him in this position because in the 2009 film I Love You, Man, he was essentially Craig, someone lacking male friends to share a connection with. While Friendship is often absurdly funny and very uncomfortable, once you look past the situational comedy, there is a real story about the power of human connection and how much we crave it, no matter what the age. These connections make us who we are, and it's important not to wait too long to experience them because you'll find yourself too settled to know what to do when they finally come your way. Friendship is now playing in select theaters and opens wide on May 23, 2025, courtesy of A24.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"Friendship" Is One Of The Funniest Movies I've Seen In Many, Many, Many, Manyyyyy Years — Here's A Bunch Of Interesting Facts About It
In case it hasn't landed on your radar yet, Friendship is a new ~wild~ comedy film from A24 starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. The quick pitch is: Suburban dad, Craig (Robinson) falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor (Paul Rudd), but Craig's attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives. And let's just say, if you're a fan of the show I Think You Should Leave, this will be 1000% up your alley because the film feels like an extra-long episode of that show. And it's great, 10/10 would recommend. Because I enjoy a good deep-dive into things I like, here are some interesting behind-the-scenes facts about the film I just learned: is writer-director Andrew DeYoung's debut feature film. His previous credits include directing for shows like Our Flag Means Death, Pen15, and Shrill. the writing and jokes seem ~very~ Tim Robinson, he was shockingly not a writer (or even co-writer) on it. DeYoung says that Tim did come to mind while writing his script. "Thankfully, he said 'yes' when I sent it [the script] to him," he told Entertainment Weekly. and Robinson are actually good friends IRL, which maybe explains why DeYoung was able to capture Tim Robinson's comedic voice so well in the film. might think there was a ton of improv in the film, but apparently, Robinson doesn't like improv. According to DeYoung, they did do it [improv], as Rudd is "exceptional" at it. But while a few things made it into the movie, for the most part what you see was written on the page. of DeYoung's inspiration was his own friendship "issues" IRL. He explained, "A few years ago, I had my own Friendship issues that I was trying to resolve, and I realized that I'd never seen a breakup story about two middle-aged men. It's something that's happening all the time. It's tragic but it's also deeply funny." interestingly, DeYoung wrote the script in 2020 during the pandemic. surprising inspiration for the film was actually Paul Thomas Anderson's film The Master — a dramatic story about a guru who becomes dangerously entangled with one of his acolytes. Robinson was immediately on board with that concept. DeYoung said, "When I finished the Friendship screenplay, I told Tim that I had written it for him and that I wanted to shoot the story like it was The Master. He got right back to me and just said, 'Great, let's do it.'" the supporting role of Austin was a smaller part, which DeYoung says "made attracting talent trickier than expected." the part of Austin was actually rewritten for Paul Rudd. DeYoung explained, "It [the script] got to Paul Rudd, and it was just clear how amazing that would be." fact, Paul Rudd's character was originally named Brian. But then Rudd pointed out that "Brian" was the name of his character in Anchorman, who is ALSO a news guy. it was Paul Rudd who pitched the name "Austin" instead of Brian. for the role of Tami, played by Kate Mara, DeYoung wanted Robinson to act against someone not traditionally known for comedy. fact, Mara was one of the first people pitched to DeYoung. He told Entertainment Weekly, "I met her and immediately was like, 'Yeah, you're perfect. Let's do this.'" 16."Spiritual emptiness" is a theme DeYoung wanted to really emphasize in the film saying that in today's society, "capital has replaced religion." He continued, "I wanted to point to that, and to the almost religious grasp that companies like Marvel have on our culture." that empty feeling, they actually filmed in ice-cold weather — upstate New York in January and February for 23 days. despite the film being a comedy, DeYoung didn't want the audience to feel "safe or settled." to emphasize that uneasy feeling, the filmmakers used as much natural lighting as possible. In fact, they took inspiration from the 2018 psychological thriller Burning. In particular, they looked to a scene where the characters in that film are sitting outside at sunset. "We were reaching for something similar and to bring it into a comedy, where everybody's guard is down," said DeYoung. Friendship opens in theaters on May 9. And if you wanna see more, you can check out the official trailer here: Unless otherwise noted, facts were sourced from the film's production notes.
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Friendship' Review: Are Men OK?
One of the most unforgivable (and unforgettable) sins you can commit in youth, say around the sixth grade, happens when you're desperate to join a new friend group. You want to be cool. You want to be part of their circle. So when someone cracks a joke, you laugh with everyone, then add your own hilarious rejoinder — and everyone just stares. Some invisible line has been crossed. You took the joke too far, and now it's dead and, with it, your social life, your reputation and your chances of ever being happy again. This feeling goes a long way toward explaining why 'Friendship,' the new cringe-com starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, is often funny and always distressing. The feature debut of the writer and director Andrew DeYoung definitely shares DNA with 'I Think You Should Leave,' Robinson's hit Netflix comedy series, in which he usually plays a guy who can't quite make out the social cues everyone else seems to follow without trying. So he's always doing something bizarre, and it's funny because it's uncomfortable. This makes Robinson the perfect, and possibly only, lead for DeYoung's script. It's about a man named Craig Waterman who has attained the markers of adulthood — a lovely wife (Tami, played by Kate Mara), a teenage son (Jack Dylan Grazer) who still at least talks to him, gainful employment, a nice-enough house — but is functionally still the sixth grader in that friend circle. Except Craig, being a certain variety of grown American man, doesn't have friends, per se. He has Tami, who is almost unbelievably nice to him given he's sort of a putz: obsessed with avoiding Marvel spoilers, loyal to only one brand of clothing that he apparently sources from a restaurant called Ocean View Dining. His co-workers joke around with one another on their smoke breaks, which he watches from his office window, nose all but pressed against the glass. Then, one day, he meets the new neighbor, Austin Carmichael (Rudd), who turns out to be the coolest guy Craig could imagine. Austin has a mustache. He's the local weatherman. He plays in a band. He buys antique weaponry. He knows just which rules to break to have a good time. So Craig develops a kind of obsession with Austin, not exactly the creepy kind but not exactly uncreepy, either. Hanging out with Austin, Craig can see a different future for himself, one in which he is a rad, manly, sought-after leader who jams out on the drums and impresses everyone around him. If Craig hangs out with Austin, people will want to be his friend, too. At first, it works. But you already know Craig is going to mess this up, in his own special equivalent of that sixth-grade nightmare, and 'Friendship' ventures into increasingly surreal territory from there. Cringe comedy requires a dose of plausibility, the unsettling sense that no matter how weird things get, it's got the watcher's basic number. Here that's accomplished through sheer ordinariness. Craig is a profoundly predictable man, a guy with few ambitions or original thoughts. (On a drug trip, sold to him as profoundly revelatory of the meaning of life, he sees himself ordering a Subway sandwich.) He's not bad at his job, and he hasn't screwed up his life. He's just, well, I don't know, annoying. In other words, we definitely know this guy. We've probably been trying hard, since middle school at least, not to be him. But Robinson's performance, which sometimes feels dropped in from a parallel dimension that's about 3 percent different from our own, injects Craig with a quality most similar to an erratically ticking time bomb. Not having developed an interior life, he's all vibe and reaction: Shame or provocation might make him shrivel, or explode, or some unimaginable third thing. That results, at times, in a movie that feels like it's spinning its wheels, going nowhere for long stretches, with Craig just getting more and more exasperated. Yet that same energy keeps the movie watchable even in its lagging stretches, especially since Rudd is there to provide a foil with a handsome confidence that occasionally takes a weird turn. Anything could happen precisely because there's barely anything happening. These are ordinary guys, living in middling split-level ranch houses in a suburban subdivision with not much else going on. They could be anybody. They might be us. (In fact, when we glimpse pieces of mail a few times, there's a street and a town and a country but no state — it's just a made-up place that could be anywhere.) Technically the film is about male friendship, about the many elements of modern life that conspire to keep men lonely, from fear of not performing masculinity correctly to a lack of places for the average guy in the suburbs to make a buddy. Yet it felt to me more like a feature-length version of that ubiquitous, half-joking rhetorical question: Are men OK? Some men are fine, the film suggests, but they're minor characters. It's the messed-up ones who force everyone to keep looking at them, listening to them, reacting to them. Guys like Craig clearly just never got the memo. Guys like Austin figured out how to ditch their most embarrassing impulses at some point along the way, but are terrified their cover will get blown. When those particular elements combine in a friendship, the results are lethal. These men are so lonely. Thankfully, in a movie, they're also really funny.
