“One of Them Days” is directed by Lawrence Lamont and this is his first feature film. The movie stars Keke Palmer (Nope, Lightyear), SZA, and Katt Williams (Scary Movie 5, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore). This film is about two roommates who must do anything and everything they can so they can pay their rent and continue living in their apartment.

As a moviegoer, I wholeheartedly welcome “One of Them Days” as a concept alone. With the growth of streaming and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the moviegoing space is in a dire need for more straight-up comedies. While not every comedy lands with me, it is a preferred genre of mine. These kinds of movies are fairly digestible and fun, even if they sometimes feel repetitive or try too hard to be over the top and raunchy just for the sake of being raunchy. That said, I was a little skeptical watching the marketing for “One of Them Days” each time it came on. At best, I found what was in front of me to be mildly funny. Thankfully, the movie itself has more than a few laughs. This film released in January, and as far as January movies go, this is quite good. It is hard to know if I will remember this film by the end of the year, but this is a movie that if I had my way, I could experience it in a sold out setting because I think it has enough decent humor to get an entire room cracking up.

If I had to choose my favorite things about “One of Them Days,” a few immediately come to mind. For starters, the pace of this film never slows down. The film is kind of like “Saturday Night” in a sense. It constantly reminds the audience of how much time our characters have left before certain doom. I would say this is probably less anxiety-inducing than “Saturday Night” though as our characters start their journey off with more time to waste. But the movie still has a looming countdown to something that could potentially change the course of our characters’ lives.

Another standout element that comes to mind? The actors. Everyone on screen genuinely looks like they are having a good time making something that could be considered mindless. While the film may look and sound mindless on its surface, it nevertheless does a good job at getting me to care about the characters as they deal with their problems. Keke Palmer and SZA play Dreux and Alyssa. The two are fairly grounded characters who also bridge a gap to where they match the film’s hyperactive, almost animated vibe. This is the latest film in which I have seen Keke Palmer, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite on-screen personalities. On top of her movies, I think she is a solid game show host as well on NBC’s “Password.” This film continues to prove why I want to see more work from her. As for SZA, I do not know enough about her, but this film definitely makes me want to know more.

I saw this movie with my mom, and we both agreed upon walking out that it is silly and ridiculous. In a way, one can say my expectations were met. But if you go on the Wikipedia page for “One of Them Days,” it says the film is in the “tragicomedy buddy” genre. In reality, I would say most, if not all comedy, comes from tragedy, hence the phrase “comedy equals tragedy plus time.” But sticking with the idea of tragedy, I also think this movie does a great job at interjecting drama, and none of it feels forced or tacked on. The main plot involving the rent money is one thing, but there is also a subplot where we see Dreux trying to get a job she has been working towards, and I felt the stakes as this subplot was unfolding. There is a great interview sequence where I cannot help but root for the character. There is so much more to this scene than one could expect. In fact, “more” is a word that could heavily apply to my experience watching this movie. This movie keeps putting more, and more, and more high stakes material into its narrative to the point where you continue to worry that the main duo will fail at accomplishing their goals.

While “One of Them Days” is not my favorite screenplay of all time, I will not deny that it is structured quite nicely. This movie keeps building one problematic scenario for our main duo after another, with each one as engaging as the last. At one moment, they are dealing with their rent money. At another, one of them is dealing with their career. At another, they are dealing with their literal lives. I do not think “One of Them Days” is perfect considering how I do not remember all the character’s names. Also, execution-wise, some of the dialogue was delivered in such a way where I could not digest all of it. While the film’s replay value is not as high for me as others, I think “One of Them Days” is not only worth watching again just for fun, but I think the film would absolutely benefit from a rewatch in case there are any jokes or lines I missed the first time around.

“One of Them Days” also delivers a surprisingly thrilling climax. For what I previously referred to as a straight-up comedy, this film is at times, rather deep. And it shows here. Because the film resolves itself in a way where everything makes sense, everything binds together, but it leaves our characters in positions that I may not have seen coming from the movie’s earliest moments. And on top of that, I would imagine the characters themselves happen to feel the same way.

I am not going to pretend that I am watching “One of Them Days” for the visual effects, but if I had one nitpick about the film, I will say that there is a scene where one character gets electrocuted and throughout the process, we see the most fake-looking, obviously CGI-ed electricity that could have possibly been brought to screen. Despite that, this movie is often grounded to the point where you buy the scenarios, even if they are a bit over the top. There are also moments that almost cross a line to where if they happened in real life, it would leave one responding to the moment saying, “You can’t make this stuff up!”. This film feels real because not only does it have relatable characters, but it does a good job at putting you in the mindsets of these characters to the point where you too are bewildered by the actions of other people.

In the end, “One of Them Days” definitely lives up to its title. It is crazy, briskly paced, and refuses to let its characters, and therefore the audience, breathe. Sometimes it is so bonkers to the point of potential convolution, but the movie also has enough laughs in it to make up for that. Keke Palmer and SZA are a fine leading duo. I thought their roles were well cast. Also, I have to shout out Rizi Timane, who is also a highlight as Uche the landlord. Same goes with Maude Apatow as Bethany, I thought she was adorably charismatic. I have seen better movies, not to mention better comedies, but “One of Them Days” is a good time at the movies and I am going to give it a 7/10.

“One of Them Days” is now playing in theaters. Tickets are available now.

Thanks for reading this review! My next review is going to be for the brand new MCU installment, “Captain America: Brave New World.” Stay tuned! If you want to see this review and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “One of Them Days?” What did you think about it? Or, what is your favorite comedy of the decade so far? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!