Friendship: The New Comedy in Town with Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd

When was the last time you truly laughed throughout an entire comedy? Not just a few chuckles, but tears streaming down your face, side hurting, just absolutely losing your shit? As part of this year’s Midnight Madness program at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, one such movie debuted, one of the most hilarious comedies to come out in quite some time: writer-director Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship.

1. What Is “Friendship” About?

Robinson stars in this raucous comedy as Craig Waterman, a somewhat boring suburban father and husband. Craig buys all of his clothes from the same retailers, works for a company that helps make brands more addictive, and one of his proudest accomplishments is installing a speed bump in the neighborhood.

Craig has few acquaintances and prefers to spend time at home with his wife, Tami (Mara), and son, Steven (Grazer). However, when Craig delivers a misplaced parcel to his new neighbour, Brian (Rudd), he meets a fantastic new acquaintance.

Brian is a local weatherman with a moustache who plays in a punk band and enjoys exploring the town’s sewers. Craig thinks Brian is the coolest guy he’s ever met. Craig’s desire to impress his new friend and be as cool as him may cause problems for him and have long-term consequences.

Friendship marks DeYoung’s feature debut after directing episodes of The Other Two, Our Flag Means Death, and Pen15 and directing and co-writing the comedy special Would It Kill You to Laugh? At the post-screening Q&A, DeYoung said that the film was around 90% on the page and that the lead role was created for Robinson, demonstrating DeYoung’s excellent ability to write with a certain comedian’s voice in mind.

DeYoung also stated that he intended to shoot this film like Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, and given the dynamic between Craig and Brian, this is a natural decision. In a way, this looks like that PTA film’s comic counterpart.

2. Is Tim Robinson the Next Big Thing?

Friendship has the same odd, unique flavour as I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, but without feeling like a collection of doodles. Even frequent ITYSL visitors Conner O’Malley and Whitmer Thomas have some memorable moments. DeYoung’s excellent humour and concepts revolve around Craig’s gradual decline as he tries to fit in, be hip, or impress someone.

Each scene finds a way to advance the tale and Craig’s desire to be loved while still being very funny.

But Robinson’s delivery in every scene makes Friendship so brilliantly funny. Robinson’s inflexion and distinctive approach to a scene can make any line or occasion humorous.

Friendship isn’t filled with apparent gags but rather places Robinson in usually serious settings and stands back as Robinson makes these moments his own.

In his first significant cinematic role (apologies to Ugly Sonic in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers), Robinson improves each scene with his unique perspective, resulting in some bizarre and amazing moments.  

For example, his method of hanging out with Brian and a group of his buddies is so bizarre that it’s impossible not to chuckle. Meanwhile, one of the funniest scenes in the film comes from Craig’s research of psychedelics and how the picture defies expectations.

Friendship is a perfect example of Robinson’s potential as a comedy movie star, demonstrating his ability to elevate any setting or moment above what it was in the text.

The rest of the actors are equally brilliant and typically play these situations straight but manage to find their chuckles in the moment.

Rudd is especially good as the ideal friend to Robinson’s Craig, although he may not be as cool as Craig thinks. Rudd portrays Brian as if he’s trying to be the guy everyone wants to hang out with, and his dissatisfaction with Craig later in the film creates a great dynamic between the two.  

Maybe the most difficult job must be to play the straight woman alongside Robinson. Still, as his wife Tami, Mara plays the role of a completely straightforward, fairly normal person trying to live her life despite Craig’s weirdness around him.

It’s a job that could have been thankless, but Mara elevates it. Grazer is also excellent as Craig and Tami’s son, who occasionally appears, exposing some new facet of himself that we are only beginning to understand.

DeYoung’s script writes this story as if all these other stories are going on that we never fully focus on, connecting these secondary people’s lives in our heads and fleshing out this chaotic suburban existence.

3. Is “Friendship” one of the Greatest Comedies of Recent Times?

While so many comedies now go straight to streaming, where they are likely to be watched alone in their homes, Friendship argues for seeing films like this in a theatre with as many people as possible.

Granted, the Midnight Madness TIFF was crowded with existing Robinson devotees who hung on his every word (what other audience would applaud an appearance by O’Malley?)However, if this unusual comedy is released theatrically, it may have a cult following.

It was difficult for me not to think of going to the movies, feeling and hearing the startled, delighted reactions of the crowd watching Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy or Bridesmaids for the first time.

Friendship is too odd to be a major success, but it will undoubtedly find an audience of passionate fans who will recite it for years. And, to be honest, it would be a tragedy to lose that experience for its audience if it went straight to streaming.

Friendship appears poised to become the next big cult comedy success, thanks to Robinson’s exploration of each scene and DeYoung’s zany writing that knows how to play to its actors’ talents.

4. About Friendship

Friendship is a 2024 American comedy film, written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, in his directorial debut. It stars Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer, Josh Segarra and Billy Bryk.

It had its world premiere on September 8, 2024 at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the festival’s Midnight Madness program.