In One of Them Days, director Lawrence Lamont and screenwriter Syreeta Singleton team up to craft a frenetic, sunlit ode to survival and friendship in the unpredictable sprawl of South Central Los Angeles. A film that brims with chaos and charm in equal measure, it carves its space alongside the "one-crazy-day" classics — movies like Friday and Adventures in Babysitting — with its own modern flair and its very 2025 set of problems. Here, rent payments, dead-end jobs, and a parade of eccentric encounters frame the daylong misadventures of Dreux and Alyssa, played by Keke Palmer and SZA in a pairing that feels effortless from the jump.
The premise is simple: aspiring corporate climber Dreux (Palmer) and her artist-slash-free-spirit best friend Alyssa (SZA) need to come up with $1,500 for their rent by 6 PM, or face eviction from their wily landlord (played with a quiet menace by Rizi Timane). To make matters worse, the money they had was squandered by Alyssa’s layabout boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal), leaving them scrambling to save their housing situation on a tight deadline. Layered onto this crisis is Dreux’s shot at a better life: a job interview that could offer her a chance to escape the paycheck-to-paycheck grind, assuming she can make it there in one piece.
What follows is a domino chain of outlandish encounters, from confrontations with clueless gentrifiers to run-ins with predatory payday lenders, played with scene-stealing absurdity by Katt Williams. The film’s pacing mimics its protagonists’ desperate energy, veering from one misstep to the next with a comic fervor that balances laugh-out-loud slapstick with clever, observational humor. Singleton’s script peppers in sharp quips and sight gags that keep the mood buoyant, even as it acknowledges the grim realities that Dreux and Alyssa are up against. For every absurd twist, there’s an undercurrent of truth: a precariousness familiar to anyone who’s ever had to hustle to make ends meet in an unrelenting city.
The film’s emotional core, however, lies in the friendship between Dreux and Alyssa. Palmer and SZA’s chemistry is magnetic, their dynamic as much about shared history as it is about diverging dreams. Palmer, already a proven comedic force, shines as Dreux, blending exasperated determination with a manic charisma that recalls Jim Carrey in his heyday. Her delivery is quick and cutting, her every eye-roll a punchline. SZA, making her acting debut, brings a laid-back charm to Alyssa, whose artistic idealism contrasts neatly with Dreux’s practicality. Together, they feel like the kind of friends who have seen each other through thick and thin, navigating life’s curveballs with an unspoken shorthand that adds authenticity to the film’s more heightened moments.
Lamont’s direction gives the story a vibrant visual energy. The film’s South Central setting is more than just a backdrop; it’s a character in its own right, from the bustling local diner where Dreux waits tables to the cluttered, cozy apartment that’s both sanctuary and source of stress. Aerial shots capture the sprawl of the city with a bittersweet beauty, a reminder of both its allure and its unforgiving nature. Sight gags abound, from the ingenious convenience store set up in an elderly neighbor’s apartment to the neon absurdity of a Payday Loan storefront, grounding the film’s cartoonish sensibility in tangible details.
Still, for all its comedic high points, One of Them Days occasionally stumbles when its broader strokes undermine its more grounded themes. The film’s final act leans on a series of too-convenient resolutions, sacrificing some of the tension built throughout its earlier scenes. It’s a choice that prioritizes feel-good escapism over harsh realism — an understandable tradeoff, but one that might leave some viewers wishing for a slightly sharper edge. The humor is a little hit and miss throughout the film, especially when it gets broad. A scene in a blood bank falls particularly flat.
That said, One of Them Days succeeds where it counts. It’s a joyful, chaotic romp that celebrates the resilience of its characters without losing sight of the challenges they face. Like its spiritual predecessor Friday, it’s a film that invites rewatching, its humor and heart likely to endure far beyond its initial release. At its best, it’s a testament to the power of friendship, the absurdity of life, and the triumph of laughter in the face of adversity. And if its feel-good ending feels a bit too tidy, well, sometimes that’s exactly the kind of story we need.
3/5
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