'Friendship' Is One Of The Cringiest Movies In Years, And I Loved Every Second Of It
'Friendship' Is cringe comedy at its finest
As I was walking into my local movie theater on Thursday night — opening night for the new Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd-led comedy flick, Friendship, in my neck of the woods, as Al Roker says — I was trying to remember the last time I went to see a comedy in the theater.
I think it was Jackass Forever back in 2022. I remember that it was in the summer because the AC in the theater wasn't working.
The movie was great, but what a gusty movie-watching performance by me. Brutal.
So, it's been a minute since I saw a new scripted comedy in a theater (the last one may have been the puppet comedy The Happytime Murders and that was such a felt-covered turd it must have scarred me), but when I saw the trailer for Friendship — which OutKick's own David Hookstead wrote about recently — I pounced on tickets for a comedy as soon as they were available.
The movie is about a guy named Craig (Robinson) who works at a marketing firm. He lives a quiet life in the suburbs with his wife (played by Kate Mara), until one day he gets a package meant for another house up the street. He delivers it to the house, which was recently moved into by a guy named Austin (Rudd), who is a local TV weatherman who plays in a band.
The two decide to hang out, and the film goes from there, following their friendship.
It's a simple idea that does an incredible job of showcasing just how awkward it can be to make new friends as an adult.
Now, I'm a big fan of Tim Robinson and his show, I Think You Should Leave. In my opinion, it's the best sketch comedy of the decade thus far, and it's not even close. While that's not everyone's cup of tea, I think the plot is going to be relatable to any dude.
What kind of blew my mind is how much this movie felt like an extended I Think You Should Leave sketch, even though writer and director Andrew DeYoung didn't work on the show. Sometimes that's not a good thing, and means that there's a lot of fat that could be trimmed, but that wasn't the case with Friendship.
It clocks in at about 100 minutes, and moves right along without ever spinning its wheels or any of the running gags getting old. I saw it in a fairly full theater, and many laugh-out-loud moments had the theater rolling.
The writing is great, but it's helped by the two leads. Rudd is a great comic actor, and Robinson is one of the most effortlessly funny comedians working today, and I hope we see him leading more movies.
If you've got the time, I recommend checking it out. Sure, it may not be for everyone, but if you like comedy that will make you cringe as much as it will make you laugh, you'll love it.