Forming lasting friendships is hard, but making friends as an adult is even harder. How do people with schedules and routines, set ways and earlier-than-in-your-twenties bedtimes stand the chance to form meaningful connections after working a nine-to-five job? Andrew DeYoung’s feature debut, “Friendship,” aims to explore what it’s like for two mismatched grown men to become friends.
“Friendship” had its debut at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and stars Tim Robinson as Craig. He’s married to Tami (Kate Mara), who recently overcame cancer, and they have a teenage son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). The movie doesn’t suggest there is a ton of passion in their marriage, especially since Tami is always talking about her ex-boyfriend and her contacts with him.
One day, a package addressed to his neighbor is delivered to Craig’s house. Craig and Tami are in the process of selling their house, while Austin (Paul Rudd) is new to the neighborhood. He’s charismatic and welcoming, which makes Craig — ever the outsider — feel welcomed in a way he seemingly has never felt. The two begin hanging out, going on adventures and Austin even invites Craig to meet his group of friends. When things don’t go well, Austin decides the friendship isn’t going to work, which sends Craig into a spiral.
Robinson is best known for his Netflix sketch show “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson,” but “Friendship” is his first leading role in a film. Whether the audience is familiar with Robinson’s work or not, it’s fairly well-known that his brand of humor is offbeat and specific, which lends itself to how successfully “Friendship” will land for those who see the film. Craig is designed to make everyone watching uncomfortable, and he’s a grating character to spend 100 minutes with (the movie is a long 100 minutes).
DeYoung’s screenplay wants to be a dissection of adult male friendships, but it’s very surface-level in its presentation of those ideas. The 2009 Paul Rudd-Jason Segel movie “I Love You Man” does a much better job of this in a broad comedy. “Friendship” is merely a vehicle for Robinson to bring his brand of comedy to the big screen, in the hopes of making the audience laugh and squirm. Some may, others will keep checking their watches.
The movie goes on different plot tangents, abandoning the titular premise, which makes it feel like “Friendship” is a sketch stretched out to a feature-length movie. The shtick grows tiresome when the movie just jumps from one gag to another, each hoping to elicit a bigger reaction than the last.
People will find cringe comedy pleasures within “Friendship,” and that brand of comedy can be effective. But the movie feels far too try-hard for its cringe to feel authentic. Those who love Robinson’s “I Think You Should Leave” may love the movie; others will simply just want to leave.
Matt Passantino is a contributing writer to CITY.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
