‘Friendship’ Is Already the Funniest Movie of the Year

Tim Robinson should win an Oscar for his performance in A24‘s new comedy, Friendship. That is not a statement I would make lightly. In fact, I think the Academy should take this opportunity to start doling out specific comedic acting Oscars, because we need a bigger way to celebrate what just hit our screens.

Friendship, a bafflingly impressive directorial debut from Andrew DeYoung, stars Robinson as an awkward suburban man trying to make friends, alongside Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer, and many more. Friendship is also uproariously, relentlessly funny, perhaps one of the funniest movies ever made. This is also not a statement I would make lightly.

Friendship

Release Date

May 9, 2025

Runtime

100 minutes

Director

Andrew DeYoung

Producers

Paul Rudd, Nick Weidenfeld, J.D. Lifshitz, Johnny Holland, Raphael Margules, Alexis Garcia

What Is ‘Friendship’ About?

A24

Craig Waterman (Robinson) is an executive who works in “habit-forming” in Colorado. He lives with his wife, Tammy (Mara), and son, Steven (Grazer). Tammy, in remission from cancer, has rekindled a “friendship” with her firefighter ex-boyfriend, Devon, and Steven couldn’t care less about what Craig does. The other men at work tease Craig and exclude him from their hangouts.

However, one day, Craig takes a misdelivered package over to his new neighbor, local weather forecaster Austin Carmichael (Rudd), and everything changes. Friendship is best experienced firsthand, but let’s just say that Craig and Austin embark on a beautiful and complicated bromance that leads to adventures including (but not limited to) underground sewers, wigs, and mushroom foraging.

Why Is ‘Friendship’ So Funny?

A24

It’s time to break the fourth wall, because we have to get into the nitty-gritty here. I saw Friendship at the movie theater at 1 pm on a Tuesday with an audience of roughly nine others. Despite our low numbers, we created a resounding and consistent wall of laughter for the movie’s runtime. In fact, I would estimate that we were all laughing approximately every three seconds. Can we just take a second to acknowledge how special and rare that is? I watch a lot of movies. I watch a lot of comedies. I have genuinely racked my brain trying to think of another time I have laughed this hard and this consistently in the theater, and I cannot.

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It is hard to explain just why Friendship is so funny, and, of course, it is subjective. In large part, it is due to the unique sense of humor ​​​​​​​that comes from Tim Robinson’s very presence. Famously fired from Saturday Night Live, Robinson’s comedy career has developed quite a cult following due to the success of ​​​​​​​his own sketch comedy show, I Think You Should Leave. Friendship often feels like an extended I Think You Should Leave sketch. It is truly ridiculous and incredible. It feels so much like I Think You Should Leave at times that it’s a little mind-boggling ot learn that Robinson himself did not have a hand in the script.

It’s Supposed To Be Totally Nuts!

A24

The script itself is distinctly streamlined for a comedy film. There is no “fluff” because it is all fluff, in a way. The pacing, timing, and editing are all excellent and cohesive with each other. Every last element feels intentional to create a perfect storm of farce. Friendship, thus, does not fall into any of the usual pitfalls of messiness or stupidity

that buddy comedies often face.
At the end of it all, it manages to end on a rather salient note as well.

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In his performance as the beige-wearing Craig, Robinson relies on a particular type of comedy, certainly; it is rather based in cringe, the absurd, buffoonery, and sometimes slapstick. It might not be for everyone, but it is certainly at full force and at its best in Friendship. For the first time, Robinson is

taking these familiar elements
and forming them into a fully-fledged movie character, and it is really something to behold. It is so impossibly intricate, a performance full of as many minute quirks as overt ones, and it feels like watching a master at work.

I know it sounds silly to talk about Tim Robinson this way, but Friendship really feels like the pinnacle of comedy.

Alongside Mara and Rudd,
Robinson is just unstoppable. Again, every 3 seconds. Do yourself a favor and go to the movie theater with as many friends as you can, as soon as you can, to see Friendship. It’s supposed to be nuts!

Friendship is now playing in limited release and will be playing in movie theaters everywhere on May 23rd.

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