REVIEW — “Friendship”

Tim Robinson is an unhinged comedic madman in the uncomfortably disturbing and endlessly hilarious dark comedy, Friendship.

Fans of Robinson‘s viral Netflix sketch comedy series I Think You Should Leave and The Characters will be primed to devour every look, line and gesture that he makes in this film. At my early fan screening, even his first appearance on-screen was met with the giggles. For those unfamiliar with his wildly absurd and meme-producing shows, Robinson may seem like a strange choice as a leading man; however, he’s put in the work over the years since his short-lived stint as a featured cast member on SNL, honing his craft and sharpening his skills to pull off the nuances of a severely lonely suburban dad whose personal and professional lives are slowly unraveling.

As Craig Waterman, Robinson is desperate for connection and friendship, both of which have evaporated in his marriage to cancer-survivor wife, Tami (Kate Mara), who is equally isolated and unfulfilled. In fact, she shares a closer and more intimate bond with their son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer) than she does with her husband. At Tami’s insistence, Craig meets super cool new neighbor/local weatherman Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd) and quickly latches onto him. While the new friendship starts great, Craig just can’t seem to get out of his own way as he tries too hard to fit in with Austin and his group of male friends, making one misstep after another.

Playing his typical likable self, Rudd’s mustachioed Austin is full of macho charm and gentle likeability. He lights up Craig‘s world with just a grin and a wink. While he could’ve easily played his character as a d-bag, Rudd is genuinely friendly as Craig’s neighborly bro. However, Austin becomes increasingly turned off by Craig’s clingy, over the top antics that creep out his friend group after a particularly disastrous guy’s night. In an attempt to right the ship and win back Austin’s friendship, Craig takes increasingly drastic measures that threaten to ruin both of their lives.

Many of the film’s most absurd moments and nightmarish fantasy sequences seem pieced together from abandoned sketch ideas of Robinson’s Netflix shows. However, they all blend together seamlessly to create a narrative structure that complements Robinson’s strengths as a comedic performer and his ability to tap into the darker side of human behavior.

While Friendship is, indeed, a commentary on male loneliness and how difficult it is for grown men to overcome the obstacles of toxic masculinity and embrace an emotional bond with another man, it’s also about the friendship between husband and wife, something that Crag and Tami severely lack. True friendships require work and effort to get to a point where there is an easy connection and unspoken bond between two people. Once that love is formed, it’s nearly unbreakable, but Robinson’s character manages to make the wrong choices again and again.

The film does sag a bit in the middle, suggesting that Robinson and writer-director Andrew DeYoung’s style of cringe sketch comedy is not sustainable when stretched to a feature-length running time, however, Robinson never disappoints or takes his foot of the gas; always staying true to his character’s darkest impulses no matter how bad you want him to go the other way.

But I guess the point of Friendship is to sit in the uncomfortable moments. While they’re often sad and embarrassing, the situations Craig gets himself into are endlessly hilarious and will make you shake your head in disbelief and appreciate the life, relationships and friendships you have. 4/5

Rated R with a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Friendship opens in theaters May 16, 2025.