Running Time: 97 minutes
This feature from Sony Pictures arrives exclusively at theaters on January 17th.
With the new year arriving, there is a wide array of entertainment options coming your way. Many are serious dramas, and those looking for some laughs may be tempted to check out One of Them Days, but this comedy is a bit of a hodgepodge that never quite finds its footing.
Dreux (Keke Palmer) is a waitress at Church’s Texas Chicken who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After years of toiling there, she is finally granted an opportunity to talk business with company executives. Her best friend and roommate Alyssa (SZA) is a talented but easily distracted painter who has been allowing her well-endowed boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) live with them. One morning, complex owner Uche (Rizi Timane) shows up at their apartment door, demanding the rent. They learn that Keshawn has taken all their money and that they will be out on the street by 6 pm if they don’t come up with $1500 dollars. They race around town, trying to find a way to earn enough quick cash to save themselves, but end up in more and more trouble as the day passes.
The concept is certainly enough to provide plenty of opportunities for humor and a few odd scenarios do elicit a laugh or two. Some of the side hustles of neighbors in the leads’ complex earn chuckles. When Dreux and Alyssa hunt down Keshawn and come face to face with the tough-as-nails Berniece (Aziza Scott), it results in a few entertaining moments (as well as one enjoyably weird ice-cream visual). Shayla doesn’t go away either, resulting in a wince-inducing trip to a fast-food drive-through. Lucky (Katt Williams), an oddball who begs the ladies to reconsider entering a loan agency, is also engaging. And while over-the-top, there are a couple of amusing gross-out moments during a scene with Dreux attempting to earn cash by giving as much blood as she can.
But sadly, the comedic tone isn’t always consistent. One would expect the leads to be completely panicked and distressed given their circumstances, resulting in rash acts and manic humor. Dreux certainly shows concern at points during the film, but as written Alyssa doesn’t seem nearly as bothered as she should be. Instead, she cracks jokes and many actions strain believability, like when she earns some money and then waves it around in public. The lack of desperation in the character doesn’t add any excitement to the proceedings. Even the occasional appearance of a ticking clock here and there fails to elevate the comedic tension.
And while a few previously noted scenarios earn a chuckle, several fall flat. In fact, the movie switches gears in the final third, following up on a footwear subplot that introduces a new and more threatening villain. It results in a finale involving gunfire that doesn’t feel in keeping with the preceding incidents. The shoe-related shenanigans also result in a strange cameo from a famous face that simply doesn’t land.
Additionally, when the leads finally come up with a last-minute plan to save themselves emphasizing their already noted talents, it really feels like a story device. The long-gestating plan is explained away with the comment that the pair just hadn’t been utilizing their skills, but it’s is a tough sell and one wonders why it took so long for them to take this route.
Of course, this is a silly comedy. One can’t be overly harsh for the story coming to a quick close and tying everything up in a neat bow, but it is awkwardly delivered. There are funny moments here and there and the two likable leads help sell a few outrageous gags. It’s unfortunate that the central concept isn’t utilized to its fullest potential, providing neither the number of laughs or manic desperation from its protagonists that it could have. One of Them Days just feels like a middling buddy comedy, unlikely to be remembered long past its release date.