Movie Review: ‘One of Them Days’

“One of Them Days” featuring actress Keke Palmer and American singer songwriter SZA,  is the feature directorial debut of Lawrence Lamont released on Jan. 17. The film is about two best friends and roommates Drew (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA). They discover that Alyssa’s boyfriend spent their rent money. The duo then goes through extremes in order to get the rent money back, avoid eviction and keep their friendship. 

Surprisingly but great for me, when I went to watch the film I was the only one in the theatre. Skeptical at this point, I was wondering if the film would be good.  

To my surprise my smile was ear to ear the whole time. “One of Them Days” is the black girl version of  “Friday”. If you’ve never seen “Friday” by F. Gary Gray it’s essentially the same plot, in this case the characters Craig and Smokey need to come up with $200 to get out of their situation. 

Both Palmer and SZA had amazing chemistry in the film and for SZA’s first debut in a film it was fantastic. Palmer has played in many roles throughout Hollywood, and her charismatic self always shines through. As for the casting I think picking SZA was the best partner for Palmer. The dynamic between the two didn’t feel scripted, it more so felt like improv. 

Slapstick comedy is thrown in here a lot and it goes amazing with the comebacks from Palmer’s and SZA’s character. Slapstick comedy is the type of exaggerated physical humor you would see in a Charlie Chaplin film. There is a lot of emotion in this comedy, both characters share an appreciation for each other and their talents. 

The film has the potential to be a cult classic, it has all the right elements. A great pace to the storyline, all the right things that lead to the climax as well as not going too deep into the lives of the characters and how they might live in the future. You’re just watching them live and learning about them as the movie progresses.

I’ve been craving a film like this. We don’t have our celebrity crossovers anymore, cliche rom-coms, relatable comedy films. We don’t get movies like this anymore and I’ve seen other reviews that it’s bringing a 90’s film era back to the screen. This movie is definitely worth the watch. Hey maybe if you’ve watched Friday this might be just for you.