A subset of the Delmar Dads Movie Club went to the Spectrum Theater last night and saw “Friendship,” a cringey black comedy starring the actor and comedian Tim Robinson, whom I’d never heard of, but apparently is popular.
It was my turn to choose what film we’d see on the second Wednesday of this month, and darn if the pickings weren’t slim. I almost chose “F1” but was warned by someone trusted who’d seen it that the story was lame. Plus, the movie is 2:30 long. Seemed like too much time to devote to car racing action.
So I went with the more manageable 1:40 runtime of “Friendship.” I’ll never know if I made the right decision. I was told it was one of those movies you either love or hate. I felt neither.
Robinson’s character, Craig, is a socially awkward marketing executive married to Tami, played by Kate Mara, and the father of a normal teenage son, which is hard to believe given the kid’s father. Craig isn’t just awkward, he’s clueless and insensitive.
He becomes obsessed with cultivating a friendship with Austin, a quirky weatherman who lives down the street. Things go well as the two men bond and experience some male adventure, and then they go wrong when Austin invites Craig to a get-together with his other friends, and Craig lets loose with all his awkward and inappropriate cringy behavior.
There are a decent number of laughs, but overall, the film felt odd and lacked a compelling narrative. My favorite scenes involved Tami, who recently survived cancer and is finally so fed up with her weirdo husband that she begins rekindling a friendship with her old boyfriend. But I’m a fan of anything Kate Mara does.
I’ll give the film 6/10, with points for originality, comedic moments, and length.
