Friendship - Review: I Think He Should Leave

 

When a comedian finds their niche that really works, you’d be hard pressed to see them ever move outside of it. Whether it’s Seth Rogen’s crude stoner humor, Will Ferrell’s over the top exaggerations, or Eddie Murphy’s fast-talking personas, there are plenty of comedians who find their groove and never move from it. Tim Robinson (“I Think You Should Leave,” “Detroiters”) is a similar kind of comedian, having found great success with his Netflix sketch show after years of writing sketches for “Saturday Night Live” that are a bit outside that show’s sense of humor to say the least. He may have found a film director who knows exactly what his strengths are as well in the form of writer/director Andrew DeYoung with their first film together, “Friendship.”

The film follows Craig Waterman, played by Robinson, an executive working for a company that makes technology more addictive for its users. His wife Tami, played by Kate Mara (“House of Cards,” “Brokeback Mountain”), runs a flower shop out of their house, and seems to be disillusioned with their life, with Craig completely oblivious to the fact. Craig then meets Austin Carmichael, played by Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy”), an exciting new neighbor who invites him on various excursions and beers at his house. All seems well, until Austin asks Craig to stop hanging out with him, which results in Craig becoming even more invested in their non-existent friendship to awkward and amusing results.

Robinson and Rudd are a match made in comedic heaven, and the film is consistently laugh-out-loud funny, bordering on absurdist filmmaking. One could even easily call this a gateway into more bizarre and absurdist humor, like the kind found in the wee hours of 2am on Adult Swim. If you’re familiar with Robinson’s work and Rudd’s performances on sketch shows like “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” then you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into. But it does manage to be just “general audience” friendly enough to provide a jumping off point for anyone looking to get into those other, weirder shows.

The entire film seems to exist in this realm of off-kilter reality, where Rudd and Robinson are able to be completely free-wheelingly weird without consequence or care. It leads to a kind of comedy that will certainly not be for everyone but is extremely rewarding. The way it sets up jokes and bits is like a set of pins, eventually making them all crash to the ground with the joke equivalent of either a bowling ball or a bulldozer. This is the kind of film that does this one aspect exceptionally well, with virtually nothing else going on under the hood though. So, if you’re the sort of person who enjoys a bit more subtext or undertones with your comedy, you certainly won’t be getting that here.

That’s not to say the story at the core of this tale isn’t extremely engaging. DeYoung ties the comedic beats directly into the story, allowing them to naturally be derived from the plot as it progresses. It makes the laughs hit harder and the awkward bits cut a little bit deeper. It also makes the film just as a whole more compelling to watch, as opposed to one that tells an average story that has to pause itself for jokes to be interjected in. It also helps that things are elevated ever so slightly more so but a fantastic musical score courtesy of composer Keegan DeWitt (“Snack Shack,” “Heart Beats Loud”).

“Friendship” is an exceptionally absurd piece of comedic filmmaking. This is the sort of film destined to become a cult hit in the next few years, thanks to its two leads playing wonderfully off each other and its bizarre sense of world. It manages to tell a cathartic and engaging tale without losing the humor at any point, resulting in one of the oddest tales of male bonding this side of Adult Swim. 4/5