Film Review: One of Them Days could jump-start a female buddy comedy revolution

I have always enjoyed buddy comedies.

You know the type: two friends, usually different from each other in personality, backgrounds, or outlook, embark on a journey filled with challenges that can only be tackled through by their wild, outlandish schemes and misadventures.

Although the genre had its heyday in the 1980s with films like Trading Places, 48 Hours, and Turner & Hooch and continued to thrive in the 1990s with movies like Men In Black and Bad Boys, there have been great examples both before and after those decades.

Iconic films like Some Like It Hot from 1959, Stepbrothers from 2008, and many of Laurel & Hardy’s productions stand out.

However, amid this many buddy comedies, there’s a noticeable gap: the lack of female-led narratives.

While plenty of films touch on friendships between women, few successfully revolve around two female leads in the buddy comedy genre.

The best examples I can think of that focus solely on two female leads are Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion from 1997 and Booksmart from 2019. Both these films offer a refreshing twist to what has traditionally been a male-dominated genre.

One of Them Days has arrived to change all that, and it might jump-start a female buddy comedy revolution.

Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) are best friends and roommates living in a rundown apartment complex in LA. It is a close all-Black community where residents have each other’s backs, but they live under the whim of their merciless landlord, who won’t do repairs, give the place a lick of paint, or show any leeway when it comes to rent.

Gentrification is getting closer and closer to areas like theirs. The arrival of the white Bethany (Maude Apatow), played out with humour, is a stark reminder that their way of life could be at risk.

If gentrification comes in full swing, they won’t be able to afford to live there anymore.

Dreux runs a diner. It is one of those traditional American places where coffee is always on the go, pancakes are stacked high, and customers are treated like family. She wants to be an area franchise manager and knows she has the skills, but first, Dreux has to prove it to the corporate bosses.

On the other hand, Alyssa is a down-on-her-luck artist, a little scattered, and can’t understand why Dreux wants to climb the corporate ladder. She is free-spirited, but being a free spirit doesn’t pay the bills.

Living month by month, Dreux and Alyssa manage their rent by the skin of their teeth. When the next rent day arrives, they are shocked to receive a knock on the door, announcing their eviction for non-payment.

The friends are genuinely confused because they paid their rent, but the landlord insists they didn’t. They are more than panicked because they know this guy doesn’t care about his tenants and will kick them out.

They reason that the rent is due on the first of the month, and there are still plenty of hours left in the day before the first is over. Grudgingly, the landlord accepts their logic and gives them until the end of the day to cough up the money.

With the landlord out of the way, the ladies need to figure out where the rent money went, and that is when Alyssa confesses. She gave it to Keshawn (Joshua David Neal), her broke, freeloading boyfriend. He had been crashing on their floor, and Alyssa trusted him to give the landlord the money. Keshawn did not, however, follow through.

First, the pair have to tackle Keshawn, find out where the money went, and see if they can get it back from him. When that doesn’t work, they put their heads together to find ways to earn enough money.

They try the sensible route and approach a bank for a loan, but are denied, so they opt for more harebrained plans, like selling their blood.

As a clock ticks down on the screen, the trouble only gets worse, and Dreux has to find a way to do her interview for the franchise job in the middle of the chaos.

The slapstick gets slightly ridiculous sometimes, but it doesn’t take from a genuinely funny comedy with two brilliant livewires in the lead.

Palmer and first-time actor SZA (famous as a singer) have sizzling chemistry, perfect comedy timing and the ability to spin from comedic to the more dramatic scenes between the friends. I see a sequel down the line; I hope I am right.

One Of Them Days, is in cinemas, now, cert 15a.