Messofanego

"This is why guys shouldn't have friends. It'll get you into a lot of trouble." Frequently funny, full of memorable one-liners, but also something deeper than just a feature-film I Think You Should Leave..., speaking to the existential crisis of the male loneliness epidemic and friendship crises people are going through post-COVID but really ever since third spaces have been dying out and we are stuck in the hamster wheel of capitalist overworking and underpaid life. It's almost like Fight Club if it was about male friendship.

Tim Robinson's Craig Waterman was maybe not happy, but at least functioning in his life, just going to work, being present for his wife Tami's cancer support group, and caring for his family. He didn't seem particularly interested in a social life, have any friends, and jokingly coped with Tami (Kata Mara) rekindling her friendship with an ex. Then Austin comes into Craig's life via the postman messing up the delivery of Austin's packages showing up at Craig's door. Once he delivers the package to the charming Austin (Paul Rudd), he's essentially lovebombed by Austin and is immediately smitten. Suddenly now Craig cares about having a friend. What follows is a charm initiative from Austin (he collects stone age weapons, he is in a band, he promises Craig the first drive in a dream car), and the film basks in this new platonic love. They go adventuring in an aqueduct, get into mushrooms, and hang out at the top of a building. Until it all comes crashing down when Craig hangs out with Austin's friends at a party, and a boxing challenge goes a bit too far.

Tim Robinson's Craig, much like his characters in I Think You Should Leave, with Tim Robinson, is not the straight man, but the odd man out whilst everyone else is more realistic and grounded. He wears a branded costume throughout the film ("Looks like Oceanview Dining will get more of your money") as a running gag. From the very first scene in the cancer support group, he makes inappropriate comments and awkward humour, but it's clear it's masking his nervousness and difficulty in managing situations. The filmmaking is more in the tone of an indie drama or quite naturalistic with eerie thriller touches, which makes Craig stand out even more. ITYSL's sketches play out the same way too, which is then surprising as director Andrew DeYoung has not been involved with that TV show, although has directed a number of other comedy TV show episodes. The downside of this is Craig doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the characters, and it's hard to believe he and Tami have any romantic chemistry, or he has a real relationship with their son ("You kiss each other on the lips?" when he sees his son kiss his wife). That doesn't stop the comedy from working, but it did reduce my emotional investment. However, the scenarios while exaggerated and wonderfully surreal at times, do get at something real. I relate to being lovebombed by a new potential friend to then get ghosted ("You made me feel way too free!") or end up having to initiate every hang, or the existential crisis of making friends as an adult outside of work or school. Thankfully, I don't relate to just one awkward moment being the downfall of friendships ("I did one strange thing and I'm toast?!"). The escalation of events is quite creative, especially when Craig involves Tami after the friend breakup, substituting her as a best friend to do the same things with or the whacky scenarios between him and Austin (a jail scene being quite great, and the funniest scene is at a party when Craig forces Austin's friends to get to know him at gunpoint). The tribal music and thriller vibes by Keegan DeWitt's score speak to the primal and mythical examination of male friendships here. While it's not stand-out in its cinematography, Andy Rydzewski's work still looks good, and Anne Boyle's colour grading does the heavy lifting. Sophie Corra's editing is marvelous, knowing just when to leave the scene hanging long enough to seem awkward or ominous. The surreal scenes of Craig's fantasies are wonderfully done, and there's a fantastic match cut in a tripping-on-frogs scene of a smoke detector going from being on the ceiling to being on the wall of a Subway. This is surprisingly strong work for Andrew DeYoung's feature directing debut. Now I want to watch this again with my male friends.