Friendship (2025)

​“Friendship” stars Tim Robinson, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer, Josh Segarra, Billy Bryk, and Paul Rudd.  Released on May 9, 2025, the film follows a socially awkward man who yearns to be friends with his neighbor.

The film was written and directed by Andrew DeYoung in his directorial debut.  When making friends, it is essential to find those you can trust and respect and to earn their trust and respect in return.  Finding them can be easy if you’re willing to throw yourself out there.  However, sustaining such friendships can get pretty complicated, especially when your friends become a little too clingy for their own good.  Movies involving unexpected friendships often win over audiences’ hearts with their feel-good vibes and heartfelt charm, exploring the dynamics of companionship.  Of course, you can’t forget about the sentimental happy endings where they stayed friends forever.  However, this latest comedy appears to be flipping the script of the typical “friendship” story by having it go awry in an awkwardly humorous manner.  It goes to show that some connections are not meant to last, even among adults.  Was this particular companionship worth experiencing, or are we better off finding new friends in other cinematic offerings?  Let’s find out.

The story follows Craig Waterman (Robinson), a socially inept marketing executive residing in the small town of Clovis.  Craig has been left adrift by his recently recovered wife, Tami (Mara), who has rekindled her friendship with her ex-boyfriend Devon, and he is preparing to sell their family home.  One day, a misdelivered package leads Craig to encounter its intended recipient, Austin Carmichael (Rudd), a quirky yet unfulfilled meteorologist with aspirations of becoming the town’s daytime weatherman.  The two instantly become unexpected friends as they bond over their love of music, work frustrations, and restlessness.  However, an incident prompts Austin to distance himself from Craig, sending Craig into a downward spiral as he desperately tries to salvage their friendship, ultimately worsening his situation.

I enjoy a good “friendship” movie now and then, mainly due to the charisma and heart they deliver in the companions’ chemistry.  While “Friendship” seemed like it would be no different, its dark and awkward approach to the conventional topic, as previewed in the trailer, provoked my interest in seeing this descending bromance.  Another reason for my interest in this movie is its strong word-of-mouth.  It has garnered high praise since its premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and is performing well during its limited theatrical run.  With it playing at my local cinema, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see it, especially since I had already caught up with the weekend’s other releases.  Of course, I couldn’t help but be a little bit concerned about how I would feel about it, as high expectations based on early reviews can often lead to disappointment as more people watch it.  Either I would say it’s good enough, or I wouldn’t understand the hype at all.  That’s the beauty of indie movies, I guess, particularly ones from A24.

Fortunately, this movie managed to make me realize it’s good enough to justify its acclaim.  “Friendship” is the type of film that has the makings of a traditional Hollywood story, particularly one involving two different people becoming unexpected friends.  However, by adding in its sense of realism, surreal antics, and awkward humor, it became an entirely different tale from what we usually expect.  Does it make the experience better?  I’d say it was, even if it’s not entirely perfect.  By combining its awkwardly weird tone with an equally compelling narrative, “Friendship” emphasizes the dissolution of the bromance rather than its birth, with enough cringe and surrealism to make it a highly enjoyable, albeit gleefully painful, exploration of a dissolving friendship.

The main reason “Friendship” stood out from other similar films was Andrew DeYoung’s unique approach to the topic, both in direction and screenplay.  The movie revolves around a friendship that was sparked by a coincidence and then began to gradually fall apart following an incident.  However, it’s mainly about an unhealthy type of bromance that worsened and worsened due to Craig’s actions.  With Craig depicted as a socially awkward man whose mind often strays from reality, it raises the question of how a person like him handles a dwindling companionship.  Well, the most obvious choice is to move on and find a new friend to hang out with, but apparently, Craig doesn’t seem to take that hint to heart.  His obsession with being friends with Austin led to his alienation from his family and job.  I would even say it’s close to resembling a psychological thriller about an obsession that has gone too far.  Fortunately, DeYoung skillfully balanced realism with awkward antics, avoiding a reliance on either one.  As a result, the movie portrayed a complex, toxic bromance that was both authentic and entertaining in its surreal cringe.

DeYoung’s screenplay offered a refreshing and consistently amusing take on the friendship narrative we’ve seen dozens of times, making the depiction more nuanced and surprisingly hilarious than cliched and boring.  The exploration of toxic friendships and mental health was skillfully addressed with a deft touch, particularly through his direction.  By balancing cringe-worthy comedy with authenticity, DeYoung offered a candid examination of an unhealthy relationship that feels both genuine and delightfully uncomfortable.  However, it’s not without its flaws that kept this friendship from growing further, including its runtime.  Despite it being under 100 minutes long, the film had a few scenes that dragged on a bit too long, including one involving Tami going missing due to Craig’s “date”.  The movie also had some mean-spirited moments that could leave audiences with a taste that’s more bittersweet than humorous.  Considering that it’s a dark comedy, it would make sense for certain characters to be jerks towards Craig.  Thankfully, its mean-spiritedness wasn’t enough to drag the experience down, as its effective cringe comedy maintained its charm throughout its entire runtime.

My experience with Tim Robinson was relatively minor compared to that of his co-actor, Paul Rudd.  He has been in a few supporting roles in television and movies, but the only time I’ve heard of him was when he voiced Ugly Sonic in the "Chip ’n Dale" movie.  His performance in that Disney+ movie was enough for us to tolerate the blue monstrosity that Paramount unleashed before its proper makeover saved the Sonic movies.  “Friendship” allowed me to see if Robinson’s traditional awkward humor could elevate his leading role, as he had in his previous works, and I must say, I was impressed with how it turned out.  Robinson was given the challenge to utilize his brand of humor to depict a timid yet unstable family man who seems likable at first, but his questionable actions and mentality reveal him to be a lunatic.  Regarding his layered performance, which combines dark humor with drama, I concur that Tim Robinson is another comedian I wouldn’t mind seeing more of in the future.  Paul Rudd also delivered another solid performance as the quirky and charming Austin, which was well-balanced with Craig’s awkwardness.  This further proved Rudd’s capability of elevating surreal indie films from A24 following his role in “Death of a Unicorn”.  I also thought Kate Mara, who I haven’t seen since “Chappaquiddick” in 2018, did a decent job with her subtle performance as Tami.

Overall, “Friendship” delivered a properly cringe-worthy and authentic depiction of a deteriorating bromance that’s both toxic and amusingly surreal.  On paper, it may seem like another traditional friendship story we’ve seen in many similar movies before it.  However, its refreshing perspective offers a distinctly different experience than what audiences are familiar with.  How they would feel about it would depend on their own expectations.  From my personal perspective, this approach effectively showcased the unhealthy obsession authentically while also having fun with its awkwardness without roughing up its intended tone.  Despite its minor shortcomings, including its runtime and mean-spirited elements, the film is a well-balanced and engaging directorial debut that signaled a promising future for Andrew DeYoung as a filmmaker.  Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd delivered an appealing chemistry that highlighted the film’s cringy tone, and DeYoung’s screenplay was refreshing enough to steer away from its usual narrative cliches, favoring originality rather than familiarity.  This is the type of film I wouldn’t mind continuing my friendship with…at least until another great friendship movie arrives to take its place.

B+