Drinking Buddies

Drinking Buddies (2013)

** (out of 4)

Best friends Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) spend all their time at work together and they often go out drinking afterwards. This is fine even though both are involved with other people but soon when the four go on a weekend trip things get a tad bit more complicated. Director Joe Swanberg's latest film is one I really wanted to watch but as the film went along I couldn't help but start to dislike all of the characters more and more. Whenever you're watching a film like this it's important that you can enjoy spending time with the characters because for 90-minutes you're basically just watching them get drunk and talk. In fact, there's a lot of talking in this movie and I didn't find a single line of it all that interested. There are many reasons for this but one of the biggest is that the film is pretty predictable right down to the final scene, which I must admit made me laugh because of how obvious it was. Another problem is like I said, the characters are all just so boring and uninteresting that you really don't care about what they're feeling, thinking or doing. This is especially true for the Kate character who never really makes too much sense and I'd say the Luke character is just as dumb. I'm really not sure what type of point or message the director was trying to make with these characters but they just come across as rather idiotic and lifeless. The performances are the one thing that helps keep the film interesting. Wilde is always good no matter what she's doing. Johnson was believable in his part. Anna Kendrick was good in the role of the girlfriend but the screenplay certainly did her character no favors. Ron Livingston played the boyfriend and again, the screenplay didn't do much for him. DRINKING BUDDIES will probably find a cult crowd out there who connects with these people but I'd recommend going out drinking with your own buddies instead of watching this.

About 30 minutes into this film, after a long time of thinking there was something peculiar about it that made it not really work, it occurred to me what was wrong. So I jumped on IMDb and confirmed my suspicion: all the dialogue here is improvised. Yeah, that doesn't often work, and it certainly doesn't here. It all felt slightly unnatural and uncomfortable, and it didn't seem to be going anywhere. Even if it had been scripted, the story (the basic story was known when the actors and directors started making it) is extremely slight. It might have been good enough, though, since the actors here are enjoyable. Jake Johnson (who kills on the Fox sitcom New Girl) plays a worker in a beer factory who is best friends with receptionist Olivia Wilde. Both are involved, he, quite seriously, with Anna Kendrick and she, not very seriously, with Ron Livingston. The four of them go on a trip to Livingston's cabin one weekend, and everything becomes awkward when Livingston steals a kiss from Kendrick when the two go on a nature hike together. This is hardly torture, but it's very forgettable.

I've been highly anticipating this in the hopes that it would be this year's Celeste & Jesse Forever and it didn't disappoint at all: it's more light-hearted and less penetrative, but has the same keen eye for relationship dynamics, sly humor, realistic characters and fantastic soundtrack. It's the most true-to-life romantic comedy I've seen in years. The characters were so relatable, totally reminded me of people in my life, and Joe Swanberg doesn't need plot twists or external drama to push the story along because it unfolds so naturally through the character interactions and developments.

It doesn't dig very deep into its characters, but I felt that was accurate and appropriate: we don't know much about the characters because they don't let people get to know them. Daily interactions are shallow, jokey; the deep conversations and self-revelations only really happen at 4am by a bonfire after a few drinks. I think the film would have been much worse if it had a Katherine-Heigl-movie moment of all the characters spilling their feelings and wants and grievances to each other because that is not how life goes - at least not for these people.

Olivia Wilde is outstanding and while it's not the powerhouse role I've been waiting for her to take on, it does further establish her as an impressively natural and charismatic talent simply in need of the right roles. She's hilarious and buoyant and handles her dramatic moments - however fleeting or quiet - with expert skill. Jake Johnson was the perfect match for Wilde as they have incredible chemistry and their charming banter keeps the movie energized. Anna Kendrick basically plays herself, but she's very good, as is Ron Livingston with a curiously enigmatic performance.

It won't appeal to everyone, because as it is so realistic, not much happens. It's more focused on the almosts and the might-have-beens than the happeneds. But it's so delightful, funny, observant, and coyly ambiguous, I really hope people give it a chance. It's not going to revolutionize cinema or anything but it has an authenticity, spark and lively wit that the genre generally eschews in favor of saccharine clichés and melodramatic crying scenes.

I saw this movie at the Indianapolis International Film Festival and it exceeded my expectations, partially because of the negative review beside this one.

The plot of Drinking Buddies is simple: two close co-workers - both already in relationships - struggle with their feelings toward one another. This is a relatable concept for many of us, and those of us who have been in this situation understand just how complicated it can get.

The other reviewer claims that "nothing happens between the main characters," and I would argue that point. Lots of things happen between the main characters and what these things most close resemble is real life. This film is thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and totally charming.

From the threadbare 'Hannah takes the Stairs' to the layered, clever 'Alexander the Last', the quality of Joe Swanberg's films has traditionally been erratic. 'Drinking Buddies' falls somewhere in the upper half of his range as it portrays how a couple of brewery co-workers deal with mutual sexual attraction while engaged in relationships with other partners. Kate and Luke use their love of beer as an excuse to hang out while concealing their amorous agenda and ambivalence in an alcoholic haze. The improvised dialog does deliver some amusing moments, but there are too many repetitive exchanges which dissipate the film's energy.

The two lead actors create credible characters, but Swanberg doesn't give them anywhere particularly interesting to go, and there doesn't appear to be anything of great value at stake. Kate and Luke's Romeo and Juliette saga turns into a circular song-and-dance routine, until their friendship becomes infected by frustration, leading to dishonesty and irritability. The concept is intriguing, but the film turns into an effective endorsement of sobriety. Swanberg has shown he can do better than this, and the end titles arrive just in time.