Summer Film Festival - “Friendship”

In the A24 indie feature film “Friendship,” suburban dad Craig gets into an unexpected friendship with his charismatic new neighbor, but his attempts to make an adult male friend soon threatens to ruin both of their lives.

“Friendship” is definitely not about a typical bromance in the making. The latest indie film from A24 delivers a unique blend of comedy and the exploration of the complexities of adult friendships. A good amount of the humor is cringe-worthy which is done on purpose as the lead character (Craig) is socially awkward.

Some of the humor that’s scattered throughout this film can be funny, yet really awkward as well. Like I previously stated, the Craig character is socially awkward so the humor from the character can be a bit much and cringe. 

There’s a moment in the film after his friendship with Austin (Paul Rudd) falls apart and he takes a drug trip. During this weird trip, he ends up hallucinating that he’s at a Subway and Austin attempts to serve him his sandwich before the trip abruptly ends.  Now, it’s not exactly the whole drug trip that’s really humorous - it’s Craig’s reaction to the trip after it ends that’s really hilarious.

Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson actually have great on-screen chemistry together as the two male friends. Rudd plays the usual charming and effortlessly likable guy, and his performance when his character begins to feel a bit uneasy during their friendship is really great. And, honestly, does Paul Rudd ever age?

Now, some of the humor won’t land for everyone. Some of the awkward, cringe moments from Craig can be a little out there for sure. There’s a scene where Craig is invited by Austin for a guys night with his friends and after a few drinks they all start a friendly small boxing match. While trying to fit in, Craig kind of escalates the friendly

boxing match by almost knocking Austin out. And, in a weird act of self-punishment, shoves a bar of soap in his mouth.

While the bar soap moment did get a little chuckle out of me, it can still get a bit awkward like some of the humor that’s scattered throughout. And, there’s a few other moments that Craig’s awkwardness can ruin some things.

If you are familiar with Tim Robinson’s signature brand of cringe comedy, then you might want to give this film a chance!

Cast: Tim Robinson (Craig); Paul Rudd (Austin); Kate Mara (Tami); Ricky Worthy (Mr. Mendoza); Whitmer Thomas (Ian); Daniel London )Stan); Eric Rahill (Mike); Jake Dylan Grazer (Steven).

Writer/director: Andrew DeYoung (feature debut)

Trivia: “Friendship” marks the feature film directorial and screenwriting debut of Andrew DeYoung. DeYoung claimed in an interview that the movie was partially inspired from his own experience of getting iced out of a friend group.

“Friendship” had its world premiere on September 8, 2024 at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the festival’s Midnight Madness program. That same month, A24 acquired the US distribution rights to the film.

MPA: Rated R for language and some drug content   (runtime 100 minutes)

You can still catch “Friendship” at the Dietrich Theater during the Summer Film Festival on Thursday July 21 at 4:30 pm. If you can’t make it to that showing, the film is available digitally to rent via various PVOD rental services and since A24 has a streaming deal with HBO Max, “Friendship” will be available on HBO Max within a month or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSPwZIZu6Y