Latest news with #Dreux
Scroll.in
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Start the week with a film: In ‘One of Them Days', two women go to hilarious lengths to pay the rent
Strange things happen on the first day of every month, it is said. And strange indeed is the day that awaits a waitress and her artist roommate. Dreux (Keke Palmer) shares her apartment in Los Angeles with her close friend Alyssa (SZA) and Alyssa's feckless boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua Neal). The ceiling is threatening to fall off and the air-conditioning doesn't work, but it is all the women can afford. Keshawn fritters away the money set aside for the rent, giving Dreux and Alyssa until nightfall to find a solution. Worse still, Keshawn is cheating on Alyssa with Berniece (Aziza Scott). One of Them Days was released in January in the United States to box office success. After a limited run in India, the film can be rented from BookMyShow Stream, YouTube Movies, Google Play and Apple TV+. Lawrence Lamont's female buddy comedy, based on a superb script by Syreeta Singleton, is the kind of culture-specific movie that is also universal. The travails of Dreux and Alyssa, who get increasingly desperate to gather the money needed to prevent eviction, are hilarious in an absurdist way while also being rooted in the American Black experience. Keke Palmer – the lovely actor from Jordan Peele's Nope (2022) – and SZA – the singer making her acting debut – are in perfect sync as the hapless heroines trying to make it through the longest day of their lives. The dynamic between Dreux and Alyssa is relatable, touching and always zany. The friends who are in peril of falling out with each other are accompanied on their adventures by an equally nutty bunch of characters. Berniece is as foxy as she is frightening. Patrick Cage plays the hunky Maniac, who distracts an always loquacious Dreux. Stand-up comedian Katt Williams has a cameo as a doomsday prophet. The movie's centrepiece revolves around an extended sequence in which Dreux and Alyssa apply for a loan with credit scores so low that the staffer splits her sides. As a viewer, it is impossible not to join in. Play 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' is an ode to personal and political passions
The Guardian
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
One of Them Days review – SZA and Keke Palmer spar and sparkle in raucous LA buddy movie
A race against time to stave off imminent eviction, with added peril due to a misunderstanding over a rare pair of Nike Air Jordan trainers, One of Them Days walks a relatively familiar buddy movie path. Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) are best friends and roommates in a cheap and cheerful apartment in LA's Baldwin Village. But then Alyssa's feckless boyfriend spends the rent money and the women have until the end of the day to raise the cash. With its zingy colour palette and effervescent, unapologetically uneven storytelling, the film has a buoyant, almost cartoonish quality (albeit one laced with lip-smacking, sexually explicit dialogue). What elevates this raucous romp by music video director Lawrence Lamont is the crackling energy between Palmer (Nope) and singer SZA, making her acting debut here. Dreux also gets a love interest, in the shape of a mysterious hunk named Maniac (Patrick Cage). But Dreux and Alyssa, with their sparky chemistry and crisp comic sparring, is the only relationship we care about. In UK and Irish cinemas
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'I went to see SZA's new comedy and I've never laughed so much in a cinema'
When was the last time you had a proper giggle at the cinema? For me, it was just last night, all thanks to Keke Palmer's latest flick. It's well known that the Disney and Nickelodeon alum can tickle our funny bones, but I've never laughed so hard during a film. Honestly, I would have put my laughter down to being in good spirits if it wasn't for the rest of the cinema joining in - full-on belly laughs at every punchline. Directed by Lawrence Lamont, One of Them Days hit UK screens on Friday (March 7), following a successful premiere in the USA this January. The buddy-comedy centres on flatmates and BFFs Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA), who find out that Alyssa's good-for-nothing boyfriend, Keshawn (Joshua David Neale), has blown their rent money on his latest hare-brained scheme. READ MORE: Full list of Harry Potter rumoured TV series cast as John Lithgow confirms Dumbledore role READ MORE: A Cruel Love star Lucy Boynton struggled to 'switch off' as she filmed harrowing Ruth Ellis drama The pair are then in a race against time to scrape together the missing $1,500 before the day is out, leading them into a series of side-splitting situations. In one instance, they unwittingly flog a local gangster's vintage Air Jordan trainers, only for him to discover their mistake and demand a cool $5,000, reports the Daily Star. Another scene that had me howling sees the duo trying to secure a loan. On the doorstep of the loan company, they encounter Lucky (Katt Williams), a homeless man with a disdain for the system, who gives them a stark warning: "Don't do it. It's a trap. If you don't have the money this month, you're not going to have it next month." Despite Lucky's best attempts, Dreux and Alyssa press on with their scheme, convinced they've cracked the code to their predicament. However, there's a snag: their credit scores, even combined, fall woefully short of the mark needed for a loan. The cashier dealing with their application can't help but dissolve into fits of laughter as she tries to explain their situation, making for a hilarious scene. It's worth noting that this comedy of errors unfolds on the same day Dreux has a crucial job interview lined up for a better-paid position, so the pressure is mounting. Fans of buddy flicks might spot similarities with Ice Cube's early '90s Friday series. These popular comedies, which coined phrases like 'Bye Felicia', share the same race-against-time format seen in One of Them Days. Friday also takes place in Los Angeles and centres around two main characters. But One of Them Days is as much a nod to its cherished predecessors as it is a breath of fresh air, mainly because it stars two women. The buddy movie genre is largely dominated by films about two male characters embarking on a comedic quest. Unfortunately, female-led buddy comedies are few and far between. A recent addition to this sub-genre is Olivia Wilde's Booksmart, which viewers have likened to Superbad, another well-loved buddy film. The 2019 dramedy was a hit, satisfying cinema-goers' craving for female-led comedic friendships on the silver screen. One of Them Days follows suit, making a compelling argument for more women-centric buddy comedies, especially those led by women of colour. In its 95-minute runtime, the comedy explores everything from Black women's struggles climbing the corporate ladder to gentrification, and stereotypes that Black men face. All of this social commentary is wrapped up in sharp writing and jokes that landed every single time. Through Dreux and Alyssa's messy quest to raise $1,500, One of Them Days proves that we need more Black women at the front of the buddy film sub-genre — how else would we discover girls' night recipes like the Hot Cheeto martini? One of Them Days is in cinemas now.
Telegraph
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
One of Them Days: A welcome return to the easy-breezy (and very puerile) buddy comedy
In the week of an Oscars ceremony that bent over backwards – literally, in Anora's case – to spotlight the edgy and the art-house, comes this refreshingly unserious buddy comedy. Director Lawrence Lamont leans into the age-old American tradition of packing layabout best friends into battered cars and following them around for a day – think Harold & Kumar mixed with a little bit of Dazed and Confused, just without the weed – for his film about two BFFs whose mission to pay their rent on time descends into farce. The two couldn't be more different. Alyssa (played by RnB star and last year's Glastonbury headliner SZA, in her debut film role) is a ditsy aspiring artist while Keke Palmer's Dreux is an anxious, hard-working waitress at a diner whose dreams of becoming a franchise manager are on the cusp of becoming a reality. Unluckily for her, her big interview happens to fall on the same day that her artist best friend Alyssa's waster boyfriend has blown their rent money on a doomed business venture: a line of clothes emblazoned with the Gucci logo, only replaced with the word 'Coochie'. His appeal only becomes clear when we see him half-naked, and the camera hones in on the alarmingly massively bulge in his boxer shorts. As Dreux puts it, her friend is in a doomed relationship with a penis. With their dodgy landlord on the prowl, the pair embark on a frantic race around Los Angeles to make the $1,500 required to evade eviction: there's a desperate plea to a payday lender (Keyla Monterroso Mejia) whose glee at their dire credit scores will make anyone with a sub-500 rating blush; a get-rich-quick scheme at a blood bank results in Dreux's bodily fluids being sprayed around the room, Substance -style; and Alyssa's idea to sell a pair of rare trainers she finds hanging from a telephone line winds up with a nefarious gangster (Amin Joseph) trying to kill them. It's only when their new rich, white neighbour, played by a knowingly ditzy Maude Apatow, happily coughs up the cash to buy one of Alyssa's paintings that their luck starts to change. The gags are puerile – characters twerk, curse, crash into walls and get electrocuted – yet delightfully physical, harking back to a simpler time when comedy didn't need to have a 'Message'. Palmer (whose mega-voltage charisma could power LA itself) and SZA make a natural double-act, while the film's very existence – as a comedy set to have a wide release in cinemas – is reason enough for celebration. These sorts of easy-breezy comedies don't get made much anymore, and if they do, they're released exclusively on streamers, destined to sink without a trace. One of Them Days should be just the ticket to get those looking for a good time back into cinemas. Just maybe don't take your parents.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
One of Them Days is proof that Keke Palmer is one of our best movie stars
Keke Palmer deserves to be known as one of the biggest stars on the planet. She has the immaculate charm to easily carry a comedy like One of Them Days – a movie full of smart gags and occasional surrealism, but with the loose, impulsive quality of a true hangout film. Its story pays straightforward homage to F Gary Gray's Friday (1995), which starred Ice Cube and Chris Tucker as south central LA locals on a quest to pay back a drug supplier and make it to the end of the day alive, with a distinctly contemporary twist. Palmer's Dreux and her roommate Alyssa (R&B musician SZA, in her feature debut) have until 6pm to pay their rent before they're unceremoniously evicted by their gentrifying landlord (Rizi Timane) so he can renovate their place and upsell it to a witless white girl like their new neighbour Bethany (Maude Apatow), who comes complete with an untrained rescue dog called Shooter and invitations to a 'prosecco and pals' party. Dreux works at a chain diner. She's great with customers, is en route to finishing her college degree, and has landed an interview for a manager position. Yet, these days especially, that still means she's living paycheque to paycheque. And while she loves her brilliant, beautiful bestie Alyssa dearly, Dreux is the go-getter A-type friend to Alyssa's chronically late, easily distracted B-type. And, as it turns out, Alyssa entrusted their rent money to her leech of a current squeeze, Keshawn (Joshua Neal), who's gone and spent it all on his new T-shirt line (really, just 'Cucci'-labelled Gucci rip-offs). So, Dreux and Alyssa will have to chase every means, smart and stupid, to make back their money in under nine hours: short-term loans, blood donations, fetching the Air Jordans tossed over a local power line and selling them to the first sneaker enthusiast they can find. Have they thought about who put the shoes there in the first place and why? Never mind, that's a problem for later. With a strong team of creatives at work – Insecure 's Issa Rae as producer, Rap Sh!t showrunner Syreeta Singleton as screenwriter, and music video director Lawrence Lamont behind the camera – One of Them Days blows economic realities up to just the right level of absurd. There's a biscuit burglar over at the drive-thru; a mentor in the form of homeless man Lucky (comedian Katt Williams), who's clearly been in these women's shoes before and so repeatedly warns them to 'take heed'; and a loan bank with the hysterically sinister slogan: 'We got ya and we'll get ya!' SZA is a great co-pilot, giving sleepy-eyed dreamer Alyssa the warmth to answer the question of why Dreux has remained so loyal, despite the antics. But it's Palmer who serves as One of Them Days 's central force. She's a fierce comedic talent – when Keshawn emerges from Alyssa's room in just his underwear and Dreux finally understands the appeal of the guy (wink wink), the way she shrieks 'what in the Medusa?' and twists her features into a freeze frame is a masterclass in reaction. She's also got that Julia Roberts grin and a real sincerity that transforms Dreux into an emblem of optimism in the face of unrelenting obstacles, in a world that refuses to give a Black woman in her position a single easy route. One of Them Days is funny as hell, but it also speaks to something sharply honest when Dreux sighs and mutters, 'It shouldn't have to be this hard.' Dir: Lawrence Lamont. Starring: Keke Palmer, SZA, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Lil Rel Howery, Katt Williams, Maude Apatow. 15, 97 minutes.
