One of Them Days, a raucous comedy powered by a pair of exuberant performances, is a female buddy picture that gets significant comic mileage from the pairing of stars Keke Palmer and musician SZA as L.A. besties and roommates on a slapstick odyssey to come up with their rent money or face the street. The film is fun, and that’s enough, and a reminder of a recent era of urban comedies (Friday, House Party, Class Act) that were no nonsense broad, fast, good natured hood stories, and usually with clever doses of social commentary.
Screenwriter Syreeta Singleton and director Lawrence Lamont have made a nostalgic nod to the spirit of those pictures in their story of two hard-luck Angelenos, Dreux (a fab Keke Palmer), a waitress at Norm’s 24-hour dinner gunning for a regional manager promotion, and buddy Alyssa (SZA), a artist with a live-in bum beau named Keshawn (Joshua David Neal), a sexual dynamo and failed entrepreneur who makes off with their rent money. With their slumlord (Rizi Timane) threatening to kick them to the curb, Dreux and Alyssa hit the pavement trying to come up with $1500 by sunset, which the movie clocks on a count-down on screen timer. How hard can it be?
Pretty hard, turns out, and while the women’s initial plan is to steal the money back, their shenanigans ensnare Keshawn’s vicious side chick Berniece (a terrific Aziza Scott), in hot pursuit across town as the pair high-tail it to a very bloody blood bank (and a very funny Janelle James as a former stripper turned novice nurse), a payday loans racket where their bad credit is berated by a cynical rep (Keyla Monterroso Meija, making every word count) and where a Greek chorus-esque homeless philosopher named Lucky (Kat Williams) offers cautionary, unsolicited life advice.
In the nick of time, a solution: a rare pair of Air Jordans suddenly appears, as does a potential buyer (Lil Rel Howery) with a few of his own tricks up his sleeve. But will Dreux make it to her big interview at Norm’s corporate headquarters in time? When that interview comes, Palmer, a super smart performer, articulately (code) switches up Dreux’s persona while being scrutinized by big boss Shayla (Gabrielle Dennis); her life is falling apart behind the scenes, but she’s all polish, performing to pull herself from poverty and into the ranks of corporate America.
Lamont’s film is slightly less funny than its manic trailer suggested, but it mostly goes down easy. While over-the-top comic moments including a power line electrocution might seem a tad cartoonish, Singleton has some salient ideas here about paycheck-to-paycheck living, and just how close the average working class person is to the street. And points are scored on the topic of urban gentrification, suggesting the women’s landlord is actively trying to drive them out, remodel and jack up the rent for more affluent (read: white) tenants.
To that end, a funny Maud Apatow turns up as the first white neighbor, an overzealous socializer oblivious to her own privilege in “the jungle” (codename for the run-down complex), yet kookily sincere in her desire for neighborly gal pals. Near the picture’s end, she offers a welcome moment of sisterly support. Lamont momentarily stumbles when the women are menaced by nefarious drug kingpin King Lolo (Amin Joseph), the movie’s comedy temporarily giving way to something real—gunfire and a tangible threat—that momentarily shifts his film’s breezy tone and pace. But for casting
Palmer, an ace comedienne who is one of the best actresses working today that hasn’t become an A-lister and who runs away with every film she’s in, from Jordan Peele’s sci-fi epic Nope to the Jennifer Lopez vehicle Hustlers, imbues every reaction, eye pop and roll, line reading and pratfall with the propulsive charisma of a major movie star. And SZA, already an accomplished Grammy winner, has a laid back charm and ease that really serves zen to the movie’s escalating madness. Together, the immensely enjoyable pair sell the insanity and poignancy of their situation and friendship.
Laughs aside, One of Them Days leaves us with a picture of working class struggles and ingenuity; the dog-eat-dog hamster wheel keeps turning for Dreux and Alyssa, and as they struggle to get a leg up, their solidarity in this struggle makes for a very enjoyable comedy.
3 stars
