FRIENDSHIP

 “Stay curious!”

In Friendship, Craig (Tim Robinson) is feeling unfulfilled and frustrated with his life. Things start to brighten up when he meets Austin (Paul Rudd), a neighbor of his. Their friendship doesn’t last long as Craig gets a little too excited, making a mistake that leads to Austin actively distancing himself from him. Unfortunately, this simple slight is too much for Craig to handle, leading him down a path that threatens to completely wreck his life.

Paul Rudd is the best he’s been in a while as Austin, in whom Craig sees much of what he wants for himself. Of course, Austin has his own secrets as well. Rudd dons a mustache for the role. Austin might as well be an elseworld version of Rudd’s Brian Fantana from Anchorman. Both characters are news anchors, and Rudd’s mannerisms and personality here are not unlike that of Brian. Regardless, Rudd really impresses here, even if his character doesn’t appear as much as you might expect or hope.

Tim Robinson as Craig is the lead of the film, and the proceedings are all about him. Craig is a weird, awkward little dude. He means well, but his insecurities and need to be liked continually make things worse for him. Robinson plays the hell out of the role, although you can tell he got his start in stand-up. There are multiple moments where he displays an openness, honestness, and vulnerability we don’t normally get from male actors.

There isn’t much plot to Friendship, and the little that’s there is fairly thread-bare. The friendship acts as more of a catalyst to the destruction of Craig’s life than it does as the main plot of the film. It’s definitely an important and crucial aspect of the film, but there are lengthy portions where it takes a backseat to other events.

Andrew DeYoung directs and writes. He previously directed and wrote episodes of various tv shows. This is the first time he’s worked with Robinson, which is surprising seeing as Robinson seems very comfortable and at ease here.

Friendship is a very weird movie. It doesn’t follow the typical filmic structure or pacing. The pacing is often off, and the proceedings can drag or feel slow at times. The humor is very weird, odd, and off-kilter, but luckily it works more often than not. When Friendship isn’t being funny, it’s being weird and when it isn’t being weird, it’s being funny…and quite often it does both. 

Friendship certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes. It’s consistently odd and weird. It’s also often very funny. This is a truly original, unique movie. It takes a different approach towards bro-mances, and questions what the purpose of adult male friendships is. It’s un-afraid to march to the beat of its own drum and is unashamedly different from most comedies we get today. Friendship definitely loses the plot somewhere in the later acts, but this is still one worth seeking out for fans of comedies. Not everything is perfect in Friendship, but the good (and funny) far outweighs the bad.

4 STARS