FRIENDSHIP – Review

This week’s new indie comedy (a “micro-budgeted” flick squeezed in between two holiday-weekend studio “tentpoles”) explores the difficulty for adults to make new, meaningful connections in the hectic modern world. Now it’s not really a “rom-com” (though some may interpret it as such) about the meet-cute and “wooing” of two “camera-ready” twenty-somethings. This focuses on a duo in their early 40’s, though one of them was a recent People Magazine “Sexiest Man Alive”. It’s concerned with the convoluted, rocky road to acquiring a new pal, echoing a similar film from one of the actors, 2009’s I LOVE YOU MAN. He’s considered a “mainstream” star (he’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, y’know) while the other is the offbeat star/creator of several streaming cult comedies. So, one of the film’s big questions, and a “curiosity factor” is, will they somehow form a convincing and compelling FRIENDSHIP?

We first meet one of the two men at an unlikely setting for the opening scene of a comic romp. Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson) is at a meeting of a cancer support group with his wife Tami (Kate Mara) where she talks of her concerns about her disease returning. Craig tries to lighten the mood with some ill-timed humor that falls flat with the attendees. Back at their suburban home in Clovis, Colorado, Tami dives back into her flower decorating job, taking phone orders for arrangements, helped by their high-school-aged son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Apart from prepping the house for a possible sale (they want a bigger place), Craig has little to do away from his “team-builder” nine-to-five job at an online PR firm. He can’t even get his wife or kid to join him at the multiplex for “the new Marvel”. Tami suggests that he should try to make some new friends. The next day, a mistaken package delivery sends Craig on his new quest. This parcel on his doorstep is intended for the newly occupied house down the street. He walks it over and meets his new neighbor, recently relocated TV “weatherman” Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd). This “television star” (on the morning news) is gregarious, welcoming, and so very “cool”, offering Craig a chance to “hang” that evening. Later, they share a beer and take a walk in the nearby woods, where Austin guides Craig on an “adventure” as they “trespass” into the town’s long dormant maze of underground sewage tunnels (they even emerge in the city hall). The next night, Austin invites Craig to see him play guitar with his “band” at a local pub, prompting Craig to order a drum set so they can “jam”. He’s smitten, but a big “speed bump” (unlike the ones Craig got the city to install on their busy street) appears when Austin invites him over to have some “brews” with some of his old buddies. Craig is eager to be part of the “gang,” but his attempts to bond (they have a familiar “shorthand”) horrifyingly “backfire,” and Austin “ghosts” him. Can Craig somehow “thaw” this brutal “freexe-out” and somehow repair this exciting burgeoing “bromance”, or is this the beginning of a devastating downward spiral?

Though he’s not the big “box office draw”, this film is a showcase for the ‘particular” (and some might say “peculiar”) skill of Robinson as the socially awkward (that’s an understatement) Craig. Those unfamilar with his unique streaming shows “Detroiters” and “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson” may be lulled by the opening scenes into thinking that Craig is dim but sweet, with a “wonky internal filter” until his encounter with his “ideal hang”. “All bets are off” as he’s submerges into Austin’s whirlpool of “coolness”. Many viewers may be repulsed by his awkwardness, while others are somehow “drawn in” (guilty), like watching a collision (with only property damage) in slow motion. Robinson truly “goes for it” with no retraint or concerns about “likability”. Rather than softening his “edges” in his feature film lead acting role, Robinson sharpens them to a prickly, painful point. Perhaps he seems most extreme while alongside the relaxed acting style of the ever-charming Rudd, a tsunami of “chill” whose vibe is a near-fatal siren call to Craig. He’s a more mellow spin on his iconic ANCHORMAN role of Brian Fantana, while mixing in elements of the earlier-mentioned I LOVE YOU MAN in which he was looking for a BFF, though with little of Craig’s awkward obsessions. But Austin’s not perfect as we see his own trepidations at fitting in at his new station (I’m guessing he’s been bouncing from “market to market” for more than a decade), which may account for his need to extend a well-manicured hand to his nerdy neighbor. As for the “support squad,” Mara is very good as the vulnerable Tami, who has the patience of a saint in dealing with her hubby, making us wonder if Craig may have turned a “corner” in his personality during her health struggles. And Mara is a superb straight “woman” as she reacts to Craig’s bizarre rants and retorts. Ditto for Grazer as the teen who, like most, his age is uncomfortable spending time with dad, while becoming overprotective of his mum, and a tad too physically affectionate (no worries, it doesn’t go “there”).

This marks the feature film debut for writer/ director Andrew DeYoung, who has contributed to many of the most innovative cable and streaming comedy shows (along with some shorts) of the last couple of decades. Here he expertly taps into the strengths of Rudd and Robinson (I thought this may have been his own script) and elicits excellent work from them along with a wonderful group of supporting players. The plot flows smoothly, even as it builds and connects several inspired set pieces and “set-ups” which had me chuckling to myself while walking out the theatre doors (no spoilers, but here’s a hint at one: “frog”). This springs from the sub-genre of awkward comedy, perhaps best exemplified by TV’s “The Office”, though a better phrase may be the classification of “cringe comedy”. Viewers may literally squirm in their seats (think of a horror flick with odd behavior replacing gore), as we brace for the social “trainwreck” happening before us. DeYoung doesn’t offer quick cuts or flashy editing to ease our discomfort, but rather hits us “head on” with the often baffling “man-child” Craig. And remember the old adage of the “Seinfeld” TV show: “No hugs. No lessons learned”, as the story careens to a very “off the rails” finale. Yet DeYoung does bring some “heart” as he establishes the town’s setting as cold and dreary until the “awesome Austin” brings the sun and warmth to the place, and especially to Craig’s life. Yes, the Robinson persona is certainly an “acquired taste”, but for those who relish his unique brand of weird and wacky “quirk”, FRIENDSHIP is a very entertaining and engaging voyage through the rough waters of male bonding.

3.5 Out of 4

FRIENDSHIP is now playing in select theatres