'One of Them Days' Review: Palmer and SZA shine in a ticking clock farce
Director Lawrence Lamont takes a tired but true formula and still finds ways to have a good time, largely thanks to the infectious charisma of its co-leads
January really is one of those months. The big holiday rush of blockbusters and Oscar anticipation is over, yet still with enough time to kill before the influx of Valentine’s Day rom-coms, action flicks, and, of course, Paddington in Peru (2025). And, like every year, film fans everywhere wait in purgatory for the next big release that will interest them in a onslaught of studios shoving off uncertain investments into the stratosphere. It’s a tradition in Hollywood as old as time itself, but it’s surprising to see One of Them Days (2024) launched into the dumping ground. Is it insecurity on Sony/TriStar’s part, unsure of how to market an R-rated comedy? You know, the genre that I hear the general public consistently complaining about a lack of? It certainly feels like it because, in spite of its occasionally awkward plotting and familiar tropes, One of Them Days has enough inspiration, authenticity, and good spirit behind it to succeed at what it sets out to accomplish.
The film follows Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA, in her feature film debut), whose friendship withstands the conflict of their mismatched personalities. Dreux waits tables at a diner chain while finishing school with aspirations of owning a franchise of her own. Alyssa, however, is an aspiring artist living freely with her well-endowed deadbeat boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal), too blind to her attraction to see he doesn’t respect her. The three live together in a rundown Los Angeles apartment and due to a misunderstanding with Keshawn, Alyssa doesn’t have the rent money that Dreux gave her. With the clock ticking to come up with the money by the end of day, Dreux and Alyssa scrounge around LA for $1,500, all while Dreux tries to make an interview for her dream job. Their misadventures take them all over the city, from loan sharks to blood banks, as they do their best to find money and love while maintaining their friendship.
One of Them Days’ plot admittedly operates on the basis of its gimmick, but what makes the film shine is its luminescent personality, brought to the forefront by its charismatic leads. Palmer and SZA’s characters’ personalities are just different enough to create the conflict necessary to set the film’s events in motion, but their differences help to lift each other out of their insecurities. Dreux sees the value of Alyssa’s art and encourages her to leave her freeloading boyfriend, while Alyssa sees the value of Dreux’s leadership skills and encourages her to spark up a conversation with a local fling (Patrick Cage). It’s a well-balanced dynamic that services the film well, even when it occasionally dips into familiar territory with its narrative structure.
There’s an argument that boils over and a second act break up/make up, but where the film finds itself a step above many others in its genre is in the way it’s able to tackle nuanced conversations about race, gentrification, class, and poverty without losing its sense of humor. Scenes where Dreux and Alyssa find themselves in and out of quick cash solutions in their neighborhood are funny at face value, but can also be appreciated as an authentic product of the environment they live in day in and day out. Even when the film dips into territory you think you’ll see coming, it’s able to find inclusive avenues and subvert expectations. Bethany (Maude Apatow), the first white neighbor in their apartment complex so easily could have been a Karen/Becky punching bag. Instead, her personality is effervescent and naive. However, her well-meaning disposition provides a third act tentpole that gives the script some much-needed variety.
One of Them Days has a laidback atmosphere not unlike other ensemble comedies (the Friday trilogy comes to mind), yet operates on a wavelength of its own accord that’s fresh and entertaining. The film has bit roles aplenty, most notably Katt Williams and Lil Rel Howery, and it finds ways to balance its arcs with satisfying callbacks to previous threads. None of these callbacks are funnier, however than Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Keyla Moterroso Meija as a stubborn loan officer. Though some of the script’s contrivances rear their head when the film transitions acts, One of Them Days finds itself in an enviable position as a valuable addition to the start of 2025. In a month so often seen as a sea of missteps and regrets, One of Them Days is a diamond in the rough.
B
Feature image credit to Sony/TriStar via Variety
