ONE OF THEM DAYS
(director/writer: Lawrence Lamont; screenwriter: Syreeta Singleton; cinematographer: Ava Berkofsky; editor: Tia Nolan; music: Chandra Dancy; cast: Keke Palmer (Dreux), Sza (Alyssa), Maude Apatow (Bethany, White Woman), Lil Rel Howery (The Buyer, Con Artist), Janelle James (Ruby, Stripper), Joshua David Neal (Keshawn), Gabrielle Dennis (Shayla), Katt Williams (Lucky), Rizi Timane (Uche), Amin Joseph (King Lolo), Patrick Cage (Maniac), Aziza Scott (Berniece), Vanessa Bell Calloway (Mama Ruth); Runtime: 120; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, Sara Rastogi, James Lopez, Poppy Hanks; TriStar Pictures/Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures; 2025)
“Plays out more as a TV sitcom comedy than a movie.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The former director of hip-hop videos Lawrence Lamont makes his feature-film directorial debut in this cartoonish slacker comedy. Its co-written by Syreeta Singleton. Both creators are TV people, as this plays out more as a TV sitcom comedy than a movie.
The twentysomething Black female buddies and slackers, Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (Sza, a singer), are south Los Angeles roommates. Dreux runs the red-eye shift at the open all day-and-night Norms diner on La Cienega. The joint is listed as an Historic-Cultural Monument. Sza is a bohemian artist without a steady income. Both gals live paycheck to paycheck.
When their grumpy landlord Uche (Rizi Timane) does not receive the $1,500 rent payment, the ladies are alarmed that Alyssa’s worthless body-builder boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) last had the money and has since vanished. The ladies have until morning to pay the rent or get evicted.
They track down Keyshawn in the bedroom of Berniece (Aziza Scott), who reacts by furiously chasing the ladies down the street.
The ladies feverishly try to recover the rent money, get Dreux to her corporate managerial interview by 4pm, and pay the landlord by 6.
It’s a silly comedy, but its high-energy antics provide some entertainment value.
REVIEWED ON 1/20/2025 GRADE: B-
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