Keke Palmer and SZA Star in Newly Released Movie “One of Them Days,” Revisiting an Era of Comedy Inspired by Ice Cube’s “Friday”
“One of Them Days” hit theaters last Friday and stars veteran actor Keke Palmer in her return to the comedy big screen, alongside Grammy-award winning recording artist SZA in her acting debut. The film is already making its mark in the cinema world, on track to being helmed one of the funniest movies of the year with an impressive 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Produced by Issa Rae (creator of HBO hit series “Insecure”) and directed by Lawrence Lamont as his inaugural feature film, the buddy-comedy flick follows best friends and roommates Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA), who get into a series of outlandish scenarios while attempting to scrounge up enough cash to cover their monthly rent just hours before it’s due, after Alyssa’s boyfriend ‘borrowed’ it to use for his budding t-shirt business. Dreux and Alyssa are stuck trying anything and everything under the sun to get the money before the end of the day, bouncing from one played out get-rich-quick scheme to the next, and encountering various eccentric characters along the way.
If the plot sounds a little familiar that’s because it is loosely inspired by “Friday,” the buddy-comedy film of the 90s that defined the genre and influenced a generation of movies. “One of Them Days” pays homage to its predecessor in numerous ways, including Palmer donning a blue plaid flannel similar to the one Ice Cube wears in “Friday.” The filmmakers also made sure to keep the movie as authentic as possible, which is validated in it being shot exclusively on the streets of L.A.
“One of Them Days” has an all-star supporting cast that includes Maude Apatow, who plays a well-meaning but gentrifying white neighbor, and Katt Williams, who steals the show as a homeless prophesier preaching about the dangers of predatory loans – a character exaggerated but not far off from his real-life, stand-up persona.
The film sheds light on the L.A. housing crisis that is currently, and has been for decades, sweeping the city (and the rest of the nation), in a way that is surprisingly poignant yet lighthearted enough to earn more than a few laughs. The timing of the film’s release is also especially relevant, in the wake of all the chaos and destruction that has been brought by the L.A. fires (one scene depicts the apartment complex catching fire, which may eerily hit too close to home for L.A. residents).
Following in the footsteps of its “Friday” forebear, “One of Them Days” is a movie that uses comedy to draw attention to the inescapability and absurdity of the housing crisis in America, and will likely stand the test of time as a film to be applauded for years to come.
“One of Them Days” is also one of them movies best seen in the theater, so go check it out while you can!
