Latest news with #IThinkYouShouldLeave
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A Film That Captures a ‘Friend Breakup'
Men will literally, as the meme goes, do anything to avoid therapy. They'll start wars. They'll become obsessed with the Roman empire. They'll join more improv teams than they could possibly need. The meme captures the exaggerated nature of the 'male-loneliness epidemic' narrative: Despite a recent study finding that American men and women are roughly equally lonely, the idea that men are especially unable to cope with social isolation persists. But for Craig Waterman, the protagonist of the new film Friendship, male loneliness is no myth. Played by the comedian Tim Robinson—best known as the mastermind behind the sketch-comedy series I Think You Should Leave—Craig is, to put it mildly, dreadful at making friends. He's an intrusive thought in human form, the embodiment of the speed bump he had the city install on his street. He's a tightly wound collection of eccentricities attempting to come off as an everyman, and as such, his co-workers can't stand him. His teenage son won't go see the 'new Marvel' with him. Even his wife, Tami (played by Kate Mara), would rather hang out with her ex-boyfriend. In other words, Craig is a weirdo who's perfectly in keeping with Robinson's oeuvre of over-the-top characters: He knows he's not fitting in, but he desperately wants to anyway. That he fails again and again to perform a more socially acceptable version of himself leaves him anxious, frustrated, and at times enraged. It's no wonder, then, that Craig can't seem to accept when a relationship is over. Friendship traces how Craig and his neighbor Austin (Paul Rudd), a jovial weatherman, quickly bond and then break apart. At first, the pair get along beautifully: Craig goes to see Austin perform with his band, and Austin takes Craig mushroom foraging. But when Craig ruins an evening with Austin's buddies, Austin cuts him off. Craig's attempts to repair their closeness only make the situation worse before veering into the bizarre. The result is a film that's both funny and unnerving; it examines the absurdity of modern male-bonding rituals and the lengths a person will go to in order to get someone else, especially a new friend, to like them. [Read: An unlikely model for male friendship] Friendship often plays like a horror movie, with the director, Andrew DeYoung, deploying techniques that shroud the story in suspense: dramatic cinematography, slow zooms, an off-putting lo-fi score. Robinson, meanwhile, has a knack for pulling faces that make him seem harmless yet somehow creepy. In an early scene, when Craig watches Austin perform, he imagines himself as the band's drummer. Craig's open-mouthed, wide-eyed expression can be interpreted as admiration, but it can also scan as obsession. He looks like he is about to start drooling. The film is full of visual gags like that, many of which do little to move the plot forward. A guy named Jimp has to repeat his name multiple times before Craig understands him. When Craig tries a recreational drug, he hallucinates about wandering into a Subway sandwich shop; what follows made me laugh so much that I teared up. At work, Craig fills his coffee mug to the brim, shuffles through the office hallways trying not to spill a drop, and then stiffly sips from the rim during a meeting. These scenes come off as irrelevant sketches shoehorned into the story, but they capture how Craig perceives the world around him. Even in the most normal of circumstances, his social awkwardness leads to him doing or fixating on something unusual—and then struggling to understand why others don't see his point of view. Yet Robinson never makes Craig out to be a complete outcast—he's just a guy who's baffled by how people get along. His deceptively nuanced performance makes Friendship somewhat compassionate as a study of how exhausting social mores can be to grasp. On the disastrous night when he meets Austin's friends, for instance, Craig copies everyone around him, grabbing a beer, delivering self-deprecating jokes, and agreeing to some casual sparring. But when he punches his new pal hard enough to make him fall over, the other men's silence befuddles him. Wasn't that what they'd wanted him to do, in cheering him on so enthusiastically? Later in the film, Craig takes Tami out on a date that, unbeknownst to her, involves exploring a hidden network of underground tunnels; he had so much fun trekking through them with Austin. Tami dislikes the experience, however, leaving Craig confused. Why is an adventure okay in one context and not in another? Would she have enjoyed herself if she were with someone who more easily commanded respect, like Austin? Is Craig really the problem—or are the unspoken expectations defining human interaction the actual culprits? [Read: How the passionate male friendship died] Friendship doesn't really pursue any answers to those questions, and the film is too slight and scattershot to be able to offer illuminating insights. Instead, it fearlessly—and wackily—reckons with how confounding people can be in their bid for one another's approval: at work, at home, at their new friend's house while dressed in their finest Ocean View Dining clothing. (It's the only brand that fits Craig just right.) More than anything, Robinson delivers a fantastic showcase for his particular brand of humor. His shtick—characters who seem like average middle-aged men until they open their mouth—has won him a cult following, but it's likely not for everyone. For those who prefer less cringe, well, take it from Craig himself: There's a new Marvel out. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
How Far Will a Man Go to Make a New Friend?
Men will literally, as the meme goes, do anything to avoid therapy. They'll start wars. They'll become obsessed with the Roman empire. They'll join more improv teams than they could possibly need. The meme captures the exaggerated nature of the 'male-loneliness epidemic' narrative: Despite a recent study finding that American men and women are roughly equally lonely, the idea that men are especially unable to cope with social isolation persists. But for Craig Waterman, the protagonist of the new film Friendship, male loneliness is no myth. Played by the comedian Tim Robinson —best known as the mastermind behind the sketch-comedy series I Think You Should Leave —Craig is, to put it mildly, dreadful at making friends. He's an intrusive thought in human form, the embodiment of the speed bump he had the city install on his street. He's a tightly wound collection of eccentricities attempting to come off as an everyman, and as such, his co-workers can't stand him. His teenage son won't go see the 'new Marvel' with him. Even his wife, Tami (played by Kate Mara), would rather hang out with her ex-boyfriend. In other words, Craig is a weirdo who's perfectly in keeping with Robinson's oeuvre of over-the-top characters: He knows he's not fitting in, but he desperately wants to anyway. That he fails again and again to perform a more socially acceptable version of himself leaves him anxious, frustrated, and at times enraged. It's no wonder, then, that Craig can't seem to accept when a relationship is over. Friendship traces how Craig and his neighbor Austin (Paul Rudd), a jovial weatherman, quickly bond and then break apart. At first, the pair get along beautifully: Craig goes to see Austin perform with his band, and Austin takes Craig mushroom foraging. But when Craig ruins an evening with Austin's buddies, Austin cuts him off. Craig's attempts to repair their closeness only make the situation worse before veering into the bizarre. The result is a film that's both funny and unnerving; it examines the absurdity of modern male-bonding rituals and the lengths a person will go to in order to get someone else, especially a new friend, to like them. Friendship often plays like a horror movie, with the director, Andrew DeYoung, deploying techniques that shroud the story in suspense: dramatic cinematography, slow zooms, an off-putting lo-fi score. Robinson, meanwhile, has a knack for pulling faces that make him seem harmless yet somehow creepy. In an early scene, when Craig watches Austin perform, he imagines himself as the band's drummer. Craig's open-mouthed, wide-eyed expression can be interpreted as admiration, but it can also scan as obsession. He looks like he is about to start drooling. The film is full of visual gags like that, many of which do little to move the plot forward. A guy named Jimp has to repeat his name multiple times before Craig understands him. When Craig tries a recreational drug, he hallucinates about wandering into a Subway sandwich shop; what follows made me laugh so much that I teared up. At work, Craig fills his coffee mug to the brim, shuffles through the office hallways trying not to spill a drop, and then stiffly sips from the rim during a meeting. These scenes come off as irrelevant sketches shoehorned into the story, but they capture how Craig perceives the world around him. Even in the most normal of circumstances, his social awkwardness leads to him doing or fixating on something unusual—and then struggling to understand why others don't see his point of view. Yet Robinson never makes Craig out to be a complete outcast—he's just a guy who's baffled by how people get along. His deceptively nuanced performance makes Friendship somewhat compassionate as a study of how exhausting social mores can be to grasp. On the disastrous night when he meets Austin's friends, for instance, Craig copies everyone around him, grabbing a beer, delivering self-deprecating jokes, and agreeing to some casual sparring. But when he punches his new pal hard enough to make him fall over, the other men's silence befuddles him. Wasn't that what they'd wanted him to do, in cheering him on so enthusiastically? Later in the film, Craig takes Tami out on a date that, unbeknownst to her, involves exploring a hidden network of underground tunnels; he had so much fun trekking through them with Austin. Tami dislikes the experience, however, leaving Craig confused. Why is an adventure okay in one context and not in another? Would she have enjoyed herself if she were with someone who more easily commanded respect, like Austin? Is Craig really the problem—or are the unspoken expectations defining human interaction the actual culprits? Read: How the passionate male friendship died Friendship doesn't really pursue any answers to those questions, and the film is too slight and scattershot to be able to offer illuminating insights. Instead, it fearlessly—and wackily—reckons with how confounding people can be in their bid for one another's approval: at work, at home, at their new friend's house while dressed in their finest Ocean View Dining clothing. (It's the only brand that fits Craig just right.) More than anything, Robinson delivers a fantastic showcase for his particular brand of humor. His shtick—characters who seem like average middle-aged men until they open their mouth—has won him a cult following, but it's likely not for everyone. For those who prefer less cringe, well, take it from Craig himself: There's a new Marvel out.
Winnipeg Free Press
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bad bromance original, cliché-resistant, complex
Exploring the arcane mysteries of adult male relationships, this cringe comedy features cultie sketch comedian Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave) in his first lead movie role. Channelling Robinson's bizarro vibe, this feel-bad film is exquisitely uncomfortable and laugh-out-loud funny. More than anything, though, Friendship is genuinely unpredictable and that's a rare quality these days. Much of that unpredictability comes from Robinson's sublimely strange comic approach to the character of Craig, a sad-sack suburban guy who favours beigey-browny clothes and a lot of routines. Spencer Pazer / A24 Friendship is a vehicle for comedian Tim Robinson (left) who plays lonely Craig. Craig works at a tech company that specializes in luring people into addictive relationships with their devices. He loves his wife Tami (House of Cards' Kate Mara) but fears losing her, a feeling he desperately tamps down. He's unable to bond with his teenage son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer of Shazam!). But most crucially, at least for this story, Craig has no friends. Taking a misdelivered package next door to the new neighbours, Craig meets Austin (Paul Rudd), an effortlessly charismatic TV weatherman with a handlebar moustache. Soon, the freewheeling Austin gets Craig into impromptu mushroom hunting and illicit explorations of 19th-century aqueducts. Craig is now smoking herbal cigarettes and listening to punk. He's signing off on conversations by saying, 'Stay curious.' But the best, best, bestest thing for Craig is the casual Friday night hang with other guys in Austin's garage. Unfortunately, trying to be casual makes Craig even more inept and panicked and needy than usual. After a misfiring male-bonding exercise, Craig is banished from Austin's charmed circle. And then things get really, really uncomfortable. Director and scripter Andrew DeYoung, who has worked mostly in TV comedy (Our Flag Means Death, Shrill, High Fidelity), wrote this movie specifically for Robinson, and Robinson delivers for him. Robinson is one of those comedians who doesn't have to say or do funny things. He just is funny. Friendship could risk coming off as stretched-out sketch comedy, with its abrupt pacing and odd tonal shifts and underwritten minor characters, but somehow Robinson, with his endlessly malleable face, awkward body language and weirdo energy, holds it together. There are hilarious stray details — Craig's preferred beige clothing brand is 'Ocean View Dining.' There are terrific extended sequences, including a toad-licking drug trip that completely undermines the tropes of cinematic psychedelia. A24 Kate Mara and Tim Robinson play husband and wife in Friendship. DeYoung has a distinct stylistic approach, favouring a jumpy, jittery camera and odd effects that can be both beautiful and off-balance. Craig's frequent fantasy sequences have the hazy, overexposed look of '70s Polaroids. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. There are moments that call up movies like I Love You, Man (which also featured Rudd) and The Cable Guy, but Friendship manages to be its very own thing — original, cliché-resistant and even complex. Austin seems genial but Rudd conveys glints of smug self-satisfaction. Craig can be offputtingly awful, but there's something relatably human in his confused emotional flailing and his outside-looking-in unhappiness. And that's maybe the most uncomfortable thing about Friendship. This anarchistic comic take on bad bromance is also a startlingly effective comment on 21st-century loneliness. You'll laugh till you cry. Alison GillmorWriter Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto's York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Friendship' director talks 'brilliant' Tim Robinson, that Subway hallucination scene
'Friendship' director talks 'brilliant' Tim Robinson, that Subway hallucination scene Show Caption Hide Caption Paul Rudd, Tim Robinson break up in buddy comedy 'Friendship' "I Think You Should Leave" star Tim Robinson brings his awkward comedy to "Friendship," co-starring Paul Rudd, Kate Mara and Jack Dylan Grazer. Paul Rudd is caught in a bad bromance. In director Andrew DeYoung's squirmy, silly 'Friendship' (now in theaters nationwide), the Marvel star plays a small-town weatherman named Austin, who extends a hand to his painfully awkward neighbor Craig (Tim Robinson). But after a smattering of deeply uncomfortable and boundary-crossing hangs, Austin decides to sever ties with Craig, who slowly loses his mind trying to win back his erstwhile buddy. Thanks in part to Robinson's 'I Think You Should Leave' Netflix following, 'Friendship' has already become an unlikely box-office hit, scoring 2025's top opening in limited release earlier this month. DeYoung attributes the movie's success to 'Tim's work thus far and the fandom he's created.' But also, 'most of us are really dying for something original and not touched by 1,000 corporate fingerprints.' DeYoung recently spoke with USA TODAY about the inspiration behind his insanely quotable comedy, as well as the origins of some of its most uproarious bits. Question: You wrote this film after a blossoming friendship went south. Were you taken aback by any of the emotions that experience brought up? Andrew DeYoung: There wasn't anything surprising for me. Friendship is this primal, essential need for all of us, but (in this particular case), there were no deep roots there. The rejection was quite shallow and pathetic, especially as an adult. And that's what spurred the movie. I was like, 'Oh, this is kind of funny, feeling rejected in this way.' There are so many adults like myself walking around with these adolescent feelings of rejection. It's just so human, and I thought it'd be funny to see a breakup story between two straight men. The movie is so in line with Tim's sensibilities and humor. Did you ever call on him to tweak any jokes? All the time. I wrote this and sent it to him, and as we shot, he basically went scene by scene like, 'Can I change this?" or 'What do you think about that?' He was always really respectful of the material, but wanted to make sure it felt honest to him. I love Tim to death and think he's so brilliant, so I was always down to hear whatever he had to say. In one of the film's most memorable scenes, Craig has a wholly unremarkable hallucination set inside a Subway store. Was it always Subway from the get-go? Yeah, I got extremely lucky that they agreed to it. The fun is playing on expectations and building it up. We've seen the crazy version (of a drug trip) so many times in other movies and done so brilliantly. I was like, 'I can't beat that,' so what's more interesting here is that nothing happens. Craig exclusively wears the fictional Ocean View Dining clothing line. How did you land on that particular brand? (Laughs.) That's really funny. I was driving up the coast by Big Sur and one of the hotels along the beach was advertising 'ocean-view dining.' That just got lodged in my brain, so when I was writing the script, I was like, 'I need a brand name!' and that popped into my head. He's also infatuated with the artery-clogging SEAL Team Six Meal, which he claims they ordered after killing Osama Bin Laden. Does that actually exist in some fashion? (Laughs.) Not to my knowledge. I was just thinking that Craig has this fascination with hypermasculinity, and the celebration of war and the military in a light way. It just felt like something he would be stoked on. At one of their earliest hangouts, Austin leads a group singalong of Ghost Town DJ's' "My Boo" in his garage. Did you ever consider any other songs for that moment? In the script, it was Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody,' but that's a very expensive song so we had to look at other versions. My music supervisor, Rob Lowry, pitched this and I thought it was incredible – maybe even better – because it's such a banger, but it's not as widely known as Whitney Houston. The lyrics are also pretty perfect, so we lucked out with that one. In the last few years especially, there's been so much written about the so-called male loneliness epidemic. How does it feel to join that discussion in your own weird, twisted way? I never set out to engage with it, although I know that's something people talk about. For decades, we've seen the decline of community – even just in my own life living in Los Angeles, you feel that lack of community. I want people to have a good time and laugh with this movie, but still, at the heart of it are these deep-rooted social issues that are affecting all of us. I want to make sure I honor those in the reality of the world I'm building, although I wouldn't consider myself an expert at all!
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kate Mara on Treating ‘Friendship' Like a ‘Dramatic' Indie and the Surprisingly ‘Weird' Connection to Werner Herzog
[Editor's note: The following interview contains spoilers for 'Friendship,' now in theaters.] Kate Mara is piling on the cringe comedy, one 'weird' role at a time. The actress, who has deftly balanced indie features alongside the rare IP film and dramatic TV roles, gives a standout performance in viral hit 'Friendship' alongside her onscreen husband Tim Robinson. It's Mara's dedication to being the straight-faced heroine who rediscovers her sexuality in a tunnel sewer system post-chemo (while also kissing her teen son Steven, played by Jack Dylan Grazer, on the lips at home) that makes her character Tami's outrageous behavior seem sane. Leave it to Mara to have her comedic debut be akin to a serious. dramatic performance — one that should be recognized come this awards season. More from IndieWire 'Renoir' Review: An 11-Year-Old Girl Ponders the Mysteries of the Universe in Chie Hayakawa's Extremely Low-Key Coming-of-Age Drama 'Dying for Sex' Changed Everything for Jenny Slate 'I don't know why our director thought of me,' Mara told IndieWire of being cast in 'Friendship' by writer/director Andrew DeYoung. He makes his feature directorial debut with the critically acclaimed A24 buddy comedy. 'But he offered it to me and I read it and loved it, and I had the same thought. I was like, 'Why did you think of me?'' It turns out Mara's non-comedy career is what made her the perfect fit to act alongside 'I Think You Should Leave' creator Robinson. '[Andrew DeYoung] just was like, 'I want to surround Tim with some more dramatic actors.' That was what Andy had said to me, and I was just so excited to be in this world, in this very, very weird world,' Mara said. That weirdness was almost a shock to a certain degree, as Mara was not used to Robinson's previous work, including his 'I Think You Should Leave' series. 'I was so embarrassed that I wasn't [familiar with it because] once I started watching, I couldn't stop. It just made me that much more excited and surprised to be a part of this,' she said. 'He's such a specifically unique comedian and there's nobody like him.' There is a below the line overlap between 'Friendship' and Mara's other works, though: The feature had the same composer as Mara's 2020 Hulu series 'A Teacher,' where her character similarly kisses a teen (just not her son). And according to the actress, 'Friendship,' which was written for Robinson by DeYoung, had little to no improvisation on set: All of the jokes were 'on the page' while director DeYoung encouraged various takes for tone and delivery. 'He is so open to ideas and play, he's up for whatever you want to try, but yeah, it was all in the script and then we had some talks beforehand, just little ideas for Tami's character and her relationship with her son and her relationship with her husband. He's a great writer.' Mara opted to stay in her lane as a dramatic star to ground the absurdity of the film, including the antics between Robinson and Paul Rudd onscreen. 'I treated it like I would any dramatic role,' Mara said. 'I talked a lot with Andy about what her story is outside of what we see and and why her relationship is the way it is with her husband, who she's been with forever. They had a kid right away and it's all the things that make really comfortable relationships maybe become a little stale. She's a cancer survivor, so that stuff was really interesting and the fact that she has this passion of being a florist and is frustrated in her life and all these things.' That serious of Mara's Tami, though at times had to be broken, especially during certain scenes where Mara just couldn't not laugh. 'There was sometimes where there's no way of not breaking,' Mara said. 'A lot of it is so outrageous, the things that are said and the scenarios, but what a fun feeling to have to try and hold in your laughter and your joy. There's something very special about making a comedy.' The now viral scene about Craig (Robinson) telling Steven (Dylan Grazer) that he is going to go 'to the new Marvel' is among Mara's favorites. Her character Tami meanwhile is going out with her ex (Josh Segarra) before kissing Steven. 'The whole scene was so wildly outrageous and we're playing it in such a normal way,' she said. 'It was just really hysterically funny doing that scene.' (And for the record, Mara's own Marvel adjacent background starring in the second 'Fantastic Four' iteration for Fox was not referenced while filming: 'It didn't even cross my mind. It was definitely not like a wink or anything.') One sequence that wasn't as fun to film? Tami being lost in a tunnel…a very real tunnel that was in New Jersey. The scene was shot for two days, with Mara having to climb through a bat-filled tunnel that was wet and cold. 'I was so grossed out by it, and freaked out by the bat,' Mara said. 'When I read that part of the script, I just didn't really think about like, 'Oh we'll actually go into like a real tunnel.' I thought for sure they'd build something in a stage somewhere, but absolutely not. It was definitely not my favorite location but again, since we were doing ridiculously funny things in it, it was worth it.' Mara's next project has also already caused a stir online, with the first look photos of her Werner Herzog debut 'Bucking Fastard' adding to buzz surrounding the feature. Mara co-stars alongside her sister Rooney Mara as real-life inseparable, 'sex-crazed' twin sisters Joan and Jean Holbrooke who share an ex (Orlando Bloom), speak in their own twisted language, and warrant the help of a social worker (Domhnall Gleeson). Herzog says the drama closes out a loose, operatic triptych that also includes his films 'Fitzcarraldo' and 'Grizzly Man.' And the letter-swapped title is a play on the Mara sisters' onscreen dialogue: 'It's the greatest title, but yeah, you have to like really think about it when you say it,' Mara quipped. Mara explained that the film almost seemed 'too good to be true' and was perfectly 'odd' and that it was an 'obvious thing to say yes to.' (Read more here.) Not that Mara needed any convincing, but it also helped that 'Friendship' director DeYoung had his own Herzog connection. 'Andy did a Werner Herzog workshop, I don't know how many years ago, as a young filmmaker. He was accepted into this Werner Herzog workshop, and it's like a whole like philosophical thing,' Mara said. Herzog himself has deemed his 11-day workshop a 'film school for rogues' that emphasizes how to fund indies and direct on shoestring budgets. Herzog wrote Mara and her sister Rooney a 'beautiful letter' asking them both to star in 'Bucking Fastard' back in 2024. 'We were both so thrilled because we have been wanting to work together for a while, but nothing made sense,' Mara said. 'We'd been offered things that we sort of thought about, but it's hard to find a film where there are two really awesome characters that you both equally want to play, with also then a filmmaker that you both are excited about. […] It was the most special experience working with Werner, who is wild and fantastical. He's like everything you want him to be and he's so clear: He just knows exactly what he wants.' Mara continued, 'And then working with my sister was equally as much of a dream. I've known her my entire life, but we've never been in the working space together and it is a very specific kind of space…You can be friends with people and then you go to work with them and it's a totally different side of them, so really you just have no idea how somebody is at work or what that's going be like, and she and I felt just so aligned and it was so easy. We were so sad when it ended. Making movies is hard, even in the greatest scenarios, but we had our families there and it was just so special. Before the movie ended we were like, 'Oh God, how are we going make another movie without [each other]?' We were immediately trying to think of our next one.' Mara will next appear in Apple TV+ series 'Imperfect Women' alongside Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, Joel Kinnaman, and Corey Stoll. She also may reunite with 'Friendship' team Robinson and DeYoung for a cameo on their upcoming half-hour HBO comedy series 'The Chair Company.' 'I hope,' Mara said. 'If he invited me, I would! God, that'd be so, so fun. Absolutely.' It seems that Mara is now a certified comedy star thanks to making more than a few 'Friends' with this indie. 'Friendship' is now in select theaters from A24. It goes into wide release on Friday, May 23. Best of IndieWire Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 65 Films the Director Wants You to See The 19 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal' Martin Scorsese's Favorite Movies: 86 Films the Director Wants You to See
