I’ve seen a lot of movies over the past few days and here’s two that I had enough thoughts about that I felt the need to share.
Friendship Dir. Andrew DeYoung | USA | 97 mins.
TLDR: An Elara-ified ‘90s wacky guy comedy. Worth a few laughs, but far off from the comedy greatness Tim Robinson has achieved elsewhere.
Friendship is the debut feature from comedy TV veteran Andrew DeYoung, but for 99% of audience members at TIFF it was notable for being the first feature-length showcase for Tim Robinson who has ascended to royalty for comedy fans thanks to his Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave. Like anyone, I was keenly interested in seeing how Robinson’s comedic stylings would translate to the big screen and to see if and/or how he would torque his persona to make it work. From the very first seconds of the film the answer becomes clear — he hasn’t changed it at all, but it still works pretty well.
Robinson plays Craig Waterman — the latest in a long line of Robinson’s socially alienated office drone manchildren — a man who finds himself in a mid-life rut after his wife (Kate Mara) beats cancer. Salvation arrives in the form of a new neighbour, weatherman Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd, essentially reprising his role in Anchorman, just slightly toned down). A fast friendship between the two quickly and inevitably leads to outright obsession by Craig and results in the total dissolution of his life.
Though the film is both written and directed by DeYoung, the humour bares all the hallmarks of Robinson. Over 100 minutes, he plays Craig just as he would a character in a three-minute sketch — which I think speaks to Robinson’s ability to give a lot of interiority to the jerks and losers he plays in ITYSL in a short period of time. Friendship plays on the constant theme in Robinson’s work of male loneliness and the alienation. It also included pet obsessions often featured in ITYSL, like fake clothing brands and disgusting sounding meals. When Craig talks about the Ocean Fine Diving (the only clothing line that “fits [him] just right”) it’s impossible not to think of Dan Flashes or Calico Cut Pants. Likewise, Craig repeatedly mentions his desire to eat a local pub’s Seal Team Six Meal (reportedly the meal the Seals ate after they killed Osama bin Laden) immediately brings to mind Sloppy Steaks.
However, the visual style and directorial sensibility feels a part from Robinson. In fact, it feels directly aped from the Elara Pictures production house style. The feel of the movie is less like Detroiters and more like The Curse, right down to its spacey OPN-indebted synth score.
Basically, Friendship is an Online Ceramics 90’s wacky guy comedy, which is certainly not a bad thing. The main problem for me though is Friendship never really takes off. Given it’s sketch-like nature, it works in fits and starts and it feels peppered with gags that made me laugh in the moment but just haven’t stuck with me. This is a definitely an unfair comparison, but I couldn’t help but compare it to Rap World, which is the truly off-the-chain movie I think I wanted Friendship to be. Unlike the Midnight Dankness standout though, Friendship is restrained by the boundaries of conventional plot structure, meaning it can never really break loose.
Living Together Dir. Halima Elkhatabi | Canada | 75 mins.
TLDR: 75 minutes of scenes of potential roommates talking to each other. Surprisingly watchable!
The premise of Montréal filmmaker Halima Elkhatabi’s new documentary is simple: set the camera down and capture people interviewing potential roommates. What ensues is 75 minutes of Montréal residents talking to each other, with minimal camera work, occasionally intercut with interior shots of these apartments and homes. If this sounds dull as a course on tenancy law, you might be surprised!
I found Living Together to be a wholly watchable and enjoyable experience. The film cycles through about a dozen or different scenes of tenants looking for a fellow lodger. Some conversations are one-on-one, some involve a group of people looking to add one more person, and some tenants interview multiple potential roommates. The steady stream of new conversations, and sharp editing ensuring that no scene ever runs too long, create an almost hypnotic trace. The warm lighting utilized throughout and gentle jazz score also create a cozy atmosphere that makes you want to settle in and listen. As we cut back and forth between these conversations, subtle narratives slowly emerge and, as the audience member, you get to think to yourself “Oh, these two seem like they’d get on well” or “These people will be at each other’s throats within a week.” Nobody comes across as a villain or a total psycho — though there are some people who seem like they’d be difficult to live with, like one very loud woman who talks about how she is an “energy coach.”
The film admittedly doesn’t appear to have a thesis deeper than “living with other people can be tough” and “isn’t the rental market crazy?” But hey, those are both accurate statements, that anyone who has had a roommate knows to be true. I’ve never had to a do roommate interview, but I have lived with other people and gone through the process of conceding personal space in the name of civil decency. As part of a generation that has mostly comes to terms that there’s a strong likelihood they’ll be renting forever, I think that this movie will hit for a lot of people my age (and younger) who watch it. Honestly, I can see a spin-off happening in the form of a cozy no-villains docu-reality show on CBC Gem or something. 12 minute episodes. Each looking at a different city. Elkhatabi, if you’re reading this, let’s talk details.