For It Is Man's Number: billy bryk

Showing posts with label billy bryk. Show all posts

Sunday, 3 May 2026

Netflix And Chill: Roommates (2026)

I have said it many times before, but there's nothing necessarily wrong with a movie not being quite what you expect it to be. In fact, a number of movies have been greatly appreciated by many because of their defiance of expectations, for want of a better phrase. Roommates isn't the film I expected it to be, fair enough, but it's also not good when it is being the film it actually is. Which left me quite disappointed.

Things start with a fight between dorm roommates Luna (Storm Reid) and Auguste (Ivy Wolk). The fight is so bad that Dr. Robyn Schilling (Sarah Sherman) intervenes, deciding to offer them a valuable lesson in the form of a tale about Devon Weisz (Sadie Sandler) and Celeste Durand (Chloe East). Devon hopes that college life will be a big improvement on her school years, and that looks possible when she meets, and becomes instant firm friends with, Celeste. It's not long until a few warning flags appear, however, and the expected smooth cruise through college turns into a very bumpy journey indeed.

Written by Jimmy Fowlie and Ceara O'Sullivan, two people who have some shared work on roughly 60 episodes of SNL, this is a film that works better when the writers remember to have some funny dialogue in between the more dramatic moments. It also works better when there's some ambiguity. Unfortunately, both of those elements are missing when the film needs it most, instead relying on Sandler and East to carry viewers through the entire movie. They're not up to that task.

I'm not familiar with anything else from director Chandler Levack, but this certainly hasn't convinced me to rectify that situation in any great hurry. She seems to have been picked by Adam Sandler to help advance the separate career of a daughter who has spent the majority of the past two decades picking up credits for smaller roles in her father's films. That's certainly a job, I guess, but it's not one that everyone would be happy with.

The big stumbling block here IS Sandler. She delivers an eye-rolling bit of "teen angst" that would be fine in a smaller supporting role, but doesn't work well for a lead character. She's not a terrible performer. She's just not good enough for a role that needs someone much better in it to make up for the failings elsewhere in the film. East does a bit better, but she suffers more at the hands of the writers, especially once the film reaches the halfway point. Natasha Lyonne and Nick Kroll are very welcome as a pair of decent parents, Carol Kane is a delight as the grandmother, Gigi, and there are entertaining cameos from Janeane Garofalo and Megan Thee Stallion. Aidan Langford is pretty good as Devon's supportive brother, and Billy Bryk and Martin Herlihy do quite well playing two very different types of loser. As for Sherman, Reid, and Wolk, they're weak enough to make their few scenes together even worse than anything in the main narrative being presented.

A drama presented in the form of a comedy, but also trying to play everything in the same light and inconsequential way as many other Happy Madison films, Roommates could have been a film of simple pleasures. Some may admire it for trying to do something else. I cannot. It doesn't really seem to know exactly what it wants to do, and subsequently fails to do anything worthwhile.

3/10

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Friday, 18 July 2025

Friendship (2024)

Paul Rudd is someone I would like to be friends with. I've thought that for decades, but it was a notion strengthened by his turn in the wonderful I Love You, Man. Despite the turns taken here, Friendship is a film in line with my way of thinking. In fact, the heart of the whole thing is best summed up by asking yourself how far you would go to make things right if you became firm friends with Paul Rudd for a brief time before awkwardly spoiling the whole thing.

The feature debut of writer-director Andre DeYoung, Friendship is arguably more about the main star, Tim Robinson, who deserves to have a major moment after the brilliant and inspired lunacy of his sketch show, "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson". Robinson does surrealism, he delivers brilliant commentary on modern life, and he isn't afraid to make things awkward. If you are familiar with his style then Friendship is not going to disappoint you. DeYoung may be in charge behind the camera, but it all feels tailored to the unique talents of Robinson.

Craig (Robinson) is a man who doesn't really do much. You would think that his wife, Tami (Kate Mara), recovering from a battle with cancer would give him a bit of oomph, but no. Craig doesn't seem to have any friends, doesn't really have any hobbies, and doesn't spend too much time outside his own headspace. That all changes when he meets Austin (Paul Rudd), a friendly neighbour who starts to show Craig some ways to start enjoying his life. But the friendship doesn't last too long, it's ended after Craig makes a bit of a fool of himself after enjoying an evening with Austin and others. Much like any sudden break-up though, someone doesn't want things to end. Not without one last chance to make amends anyway.

Brilliantly in line with the other recent work of Robinson, Friendship is both a perfect examination of the madness that affects those who suddenly find their feelings of affection/friendship/love not reciprocated and an exploration of self-confidence, masculinity, and the effort it takes to maintain a strong and enduring relationship. It IS about friendship, particularly the struggle to deal with that slightly childish concept once you're a man of a certain age, but it's also a look at how easy it can be to slide into, and become mired in, laziness and bad habits, as well as the lengths that some people will go to in order to avoid/make up for some awkward social interactions.

Brilliantly awkward and goofy, Robinson is perfect in the lead role. He's so easy to laugh that it's only much later in the movie that the neglect/mistreatment of his wife becomes crystal clear. He may not mean to cause harm, but his need to keep extinguishing his own flame ends up darkening the living space for someone who desperately needs some more light and warmth. Rudd is equally good, very much at ease playing his easygoing character with a hint of smugness and smarm that comes out more once he tries to put an end to his latest friendship. And he DOES make things clear, interestingly enough, which allows the film to focus on the escalating actions of someone suddenly spurned, as opposed to the more farcical slice of "hide and seek" it could have been. Everyone else onscreen does good work, especially considering how they have to play things fairly straight while Robinson is being consistently hilarious, but the other two I will mention are Jack Dylan Grazer (as Steven, Kate's teenage son) and Billy Bryk (a young mobile phone store worker, who also has access to some good drugs), both getting a chance to shine in a couple of scenes that have them being a bit more mature and a bit wiser than the male adult standing in front of them.

From the soundtrack choices to the editing, the production design to the lead up to various punchlines, everything here is designed to keep you on edge, but also keep you ready to laugh. If you don't like the opening scenes then you're not going to have a good time. But if you're a fan of Robinson's work . . . I cannot imagine you coming away from this disappointed. It's everything you could want, and then some.

9/10