Making friends as an adult is hard, but making friends as Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson) is even harder.
Craig Waterman is a simple man. He’s a somewhat dedicated husband to successful florist and recently cancer free(!) Tami (Kate Mara), with a well behaved and weirdly loving teenage son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). He works a typical greyscale corporate 9 to 5 job in some marketing firm, and lives a quiet life in his local neighbourhood. That is until he meets new neighbour and weatherman Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd), who’s charm and cool demeanor practically has Crag on his knees longing to be friends with him – at whatever cost.
But after an uncomfortable and failed “boys night” at Austin’s house, we watch as Craig’s initial fondness turns into a strange obsession. From showing up to his work to breaking into his home, Craig spirals into insanity and does every irrational thing possible in hopes to maintain the friendship with Austin.
The movie does a really great job at playing into the stereotypical tropes of what straight male friendships can look like. Whether that be talking about random historical facts (think Roman Empire), “jamming out” together, or literally putting on boxing gloves and fighting each other, it pokes fun at the idea that male friendships lack any sort of substance, and is ultimately a witty play on the “male loneliness epidemic”. Where men have realised maybe too late in life that their support system is almost non-existent and their lives almost solely centre around their wife, kids, and their job, with mainly tactical friendships; lacking any sort of the emotional bonds that women normally hold with their friends. Friendship sensationalises these experiences and turns it into a painful, cringey, and hilarious movie – or better yet the perfect satirical long form sketch made for the big screen.
Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, Friendship (which also happens to be his directorial debut), feels like the epitome of all the funniest and cringiest comedy skits of the last five years, and part of that is also thanks to Tim Robinson himself. Known for being an actor and writer on the incredibly popular sketch late night show, “Saturday Night Live”, and most recently getting attention on social media from newer audiences with the release of “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson”, he is a genius in the comedy scene and flawlessly portrayed the awkward and desperate Craig Waterman to a tee.
Known for their innate love for storytelling and unique films, A24 is a match made in heaven for this quirky sketch comedy. Friendship never felt too afraid to overstep any (appropriate) comedic boundaries that could potentially alienate audiences. For example, Craig Waterman getting a nose bleed at the thought of Austin Carmichael; a cliche stereotype in anime over decades defining attraction to a person (and a reference not everyone will know at the top of their heads). These comedic bits sprinkled throughout the film is the beauty comedy. It’s about trusting themselves as creatives and trusting the audience to adapt and understand the type of humour they are trying to exhibit. And in turn they produced an unapologetic and genuinely funny film.
While comedy is subjective, and sketch comedy might not be for everyone, for those that love “Saturday Night Live,” and “I Think You Should Leave”, Friendship hits the nail on the head with this toxic bromance comedy and teaches a good lesson that maybe “Men Shouldn’t Have Friends.”
