Friendship (A24): Early SXSW Premiere Review

I somehow managed to convince my CEO to comp a SXSW badge this year, which was not an easy feat. For the past two years I’ve had to take a week off, to give myself the mental and physical space to see every concert I possibly could and avoid the 9-5 guilt of not answering my emails or Slack messages from clients and managers. 

For context, I happen to work a sales job that provides rights management services to film distribution companies like Mubi (The Substance) and The CW Network. Part of that job is typically attending film and TV markets and trying to find new clients, but is more often only on the business end of things, and rarely do I attend screenings as part of this endeavor.

This year was different though; I was determined to see as many movie premieres as I could, meet as many industry folk as possible, and hit as many concerts as my legs would carry me. The golden goose of the fest for me though: attending the screening of the new A24 release of Friendship starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. 

If you’ve seen Detroiters or I Think You Should Leave, you understand the kind of deranged chaos Tim Robinson can bring to a show or skit, and how off the rails a basic concept could go. 

Welcome: Friendship. A seemingly straight-forward screenplay about a middle-aged husband and father, working a full-time tech job and trying to connect with a new friend group. 

On paper, this is a wholesome concept and something a lot of the male population can connect with. Andrew DeYoung, both director and screenwriter, and Tim Robinson craft loneliness into something far more sinister and irreverently funny. 

Watching from the balcony of the Paramount theater, the opening scene starts with a dead serious and heartfelt monologue from Kate Mara’s character opening up about her troubles in a support circle. Then the camera pans to Tim Robinson’s character, her partner, whose opening remark is delivered with that familiar zany awkwardness and it’s off to the races; the laughter starts and does not stop for the entire length of the movie. 

The basic and mundane suburban landscape became the perfect canvas for Tim Robinson and the cast to create what I can only compare to I Love You Man… on PCP. 

Rudd and Robinson become the comedy duo you never thought could co-exist, and yet work so well together in every scene, creating an iconic, oddball bromance. 

Seeing this movie, you may be equal parts tickled, terrified, and tortured as each scene builds into a frantic snowball effect of seeking acceptance in all the wrong ways. 

When this premieres in May, I will be going back with the largest group of friends I can muster, and if you’re a fan of Tim Robinson, you should do the same. If you’re not, you may as well run from the theater as if it just caught fire….

In Theaters Fri, May 9