FRIENDSHIP

FRIENDSHIP is an unsettling, highly original and sometimes funny comedy that follows what happens when a social misfit family man named Craig is suddenly befriended by a much cooler TV weatherman named Austin but proceeds to ruin the relationship with his outlandish, clueless, awkward behavior. It’s a showcase for rising Netflix comedy star Tim Robinson, whose I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE series mines similarly unnerving situations for uncomfortable comedy that’s grown a large cult audience and won two Emmys.

Robinson plays Craig, a married marketing executive who has no friends outside his wife, Tami, who’s in remission from cancer, and teenage son, Steven, because he’s socially awkward and inept. However, Craig is rather self-centered. So, when his wife tells her cancer survivor group she no longer has pleasure during sex, Craig, who’s also attending the session, focuses on himself.

One evening, Tami wife gives him a package wrongly mailed to their address. She sends him to give it to its rightful owner, their new neighbor, Austin, a local TV weatherman played by Paul Rudd. Austin is extremely friendly to Craig and suddenly invites him on an abrupt adventure.

Austin breaks the lock on a fence outside of their city hall and leads Craig trespassing through a dingy, wet, underground tunnel, into the city hall and up to the roof. Craig enjoys the view and a feeling of freedom he’s never had before.

The next day, Austin encourages Craig to play hooky from work and come mushroom hunting with him. Then, Craig and his wife, Tami, attend a performance by Austin’s garage punk band. Craig’s friendship with Austin inspires him, and Craig even becomes a better husband, father and coworker.

Austin then invites him to hang out with his friends in their weekly men’s circle held in Austin’s basement. Craig is in awe of these friends’ deep bond and looks at Austin with almost fawning admiration. However, when Austin punches Craig twice in his nose during a padded version of “Fight Club,” Craig flips out and knocks Austin to the floor with a punch of his own before yelling at everyone in anger. Austin winds up telling Craig he should leave and declaring that their friendship is over.

Craig can’t handle this rejection, however. Thus begins a series of clean but bizarre comical incidents. It all leads to arrests, his wife’s temporary disappearance, a hilarious break-in, and other wholly unexpected developments.

Will Craig ever relent in his quest to win back Austin as a friend? Will he implode his marriage while trying? And, how much can a viewer feel awkward and still find themselves unable to keep from laughing?

Writer/Director Andrew DeYoung has created a vital fresh take on comedy and offers up some subtle commentary on male social bonding in today’s often-emasculating times. As Craig, Tim Robinson delivers a riveting performance ranging from joy to comically terrifying behavior. Paul Rudd gives a refreshingly loose and funny performance as Austin, setting himself free from his costumed roles as Ant-Man in an ever-growing string of Marvel movies. As Craig’s wife, Kate Mara provides a strong grounding performance as the concerned woman pushed to comical limits by her husband’s increasingly insane behavior.

FRIENDSHIP has no sex scenes, but it has five or six brief sexual jokes. Also, the violence is light, though sometimes tense. Sadly, however, FRIENDSHIP is marred by a large amount of obscenities and seven strong profanities. It also has some drug references. Finally, FRIENDSHIP has a Romantic worldview where Craig thinks he can do anything he wants to force Austin to be his friend again, even though his behavior winds up breaking laws and veering into great personal and social unease.