Friendship

I love you toad boy

Not what I expected, but I loved it more for that. I expected, not even seeing a trailer for this, something like a full length Detroiters. That was doing a disservice to Andrew Deyoung, who has a very clear vision here. Part of that vision is, indeed, Tim Robinson, who he wrote Craig for. He plays very clearly on Robinson’s reputation and talent, and like Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave, plays a common anxiety and everyday embarrassment to its most id driven extreme: striking out with someone you really wanted to be friends with. Further, the petty entitlement, abandonment, and rage we feel in the initial aftermath- how dare they? After all the hope we put into this? Ideally, we let it go, we realize we’re being silly, or at least that holding onto it is doing nothing good. Friendship is what if we didn’t? What if we clung onto it for dear life?

Robinson is an embodiment of that id, almost less human and more personification of these feelings. Nebbish, impudent, childish, impulsive. I love his work and it feels so mean to say, but he can so easily be an absolute gremlin of a man, a human muppet. Like them, he is inserted into where he does not belong and comedy arising from his incongruous presence aline. How could he have possibly gotten this life, this wife, this child? It’s as if he was dropped into it fully formed and emotionally misshapen, the world born yesterday and it was always like this. Craig is not real in that way- he is a projection of that wild feeling inside of us, a cathartic reminder of why we can’t stay in this frame of mind, but it would feel nice if we did for just a moment more. We laugh because we’ve all felt like him and can say ‘At least I haven’t gone this far.’

Rudd is a charming opposite, handsome in an every day sort of way, mundanely charismatic. The type of person you can meet and pin your hopes on shaking you out of your routine. Mara plays her role so admirably straight, getting big laughs from the sheer contrast. The direction and cinematography work with her on this. It’s almost a parody of A24- the horror and drama here being what if a sketch character Robinson played lived on beyond the sketch, had to actually live in a world that even for as weird as it is he does not fit in? Or to go back to Detroiters, what if Tim didn’t have a Sam, a best friend with the same soul and energy to validate him, but desperately wanted one? The self serious shots of him walking and fading into another shot, the snow flittering to the ground, the domestic troubles, all of it become punchlines by Robinson’s presence, by the fact that all this pomp and artistry circulates around the manchild he is playing.

And through that extension of what normally would be a sketch character, the reality is revealed that it does not have to be this way. Craig is not doomed, unable to comprehend his nature and what he’s doing. Craig could choose differently, self reflect, look on what he does have and grow. He does… and then chooses to go after his white whale, unwilling to let go of that swirling torrent of emotional rejection inside that’s defined his life. It culminates in a sequence that is both hilarious and oddly tense- a child’s tantrum no longer feeling so innocent or laughable or harmless when he has a gun in his hand. Like he tells Austin- he is a man. Consequences arrive. And it all ends with a wink- is it pity? Is it a goodbye, an appreciation for a selfless and stupid act? Does Austin in his unreasonable and immature need to hide his baldness see himself in Craig’s ridiculous devotion to that need, and decide to let go of the negative and, like us, accept that what Craig is is inside all of us? Or is it a welcome back, an offer of friendship after everything and after seeing each other bare? I can see all of these, but one thing I’m sure on is that Craig will only take it as encouragement, his obsession growing. The question is how much will Austin be obsessed in turn.

All that to say, this is also a very funny movie with constant chuckles and a few big laughs. An A24 artistic drama-thriller through the lens of a Tim Robinson character is an inspired idea, and honestly more interesting than the straightforward Tim Robinson romp vehicle I assumed it to be. Looking forward to what Deyoung will do next, both with Robinson and with others.

I think Paul Rudd was an over cast on this one, I don't think he was great for this role. Overall I had a very good time watching, and I am biased for Tim Robinson. 8/10

Friendship is what happens when a sketch show spirals into a full-blown emotional breakdown. Tim Robinson plays Craig, a man-child drowning in isolation who latches onto Paul Rudd’s affable character, Austin, like his life depends on it.
At first it’s sweet. Then it gets uncomfortable. Then it gets weird. And then it gets really weird.

This is a film about wanting to be liked, needing to belong, and not knowing how to do either without freaking everyone out. Robinson’s manic energy is a perfect match for the film’s descent into bizarre rituals, public breakdowns, and deranged group bonding events.
Paul Rudd plays it beautifully straight, letting the unease simmer under every awkward smile.

Underneath the absurdity is a sharp take on male loneliness and the quiet desperation of trying to start over. Craig’s world doesn’t fall apart in one go, instead it crumbles slowly, crushed by tiny rejections and self-inflicted social disasters.

You laugh, you wince, and by the end, you might even feel a bit sorry for him. Maybe.

There’s a slight stretch at the 80-minute mark, where the sketch-style humour starts to wear thin. But it bounces back hard for a finale that’s both ridiculous and oddly moving.


Unhinged, hilarious, and low-key tragic. Friendship is a bromance from hell that somehow makes you feel seen.

If you liked…
I Think You Should Leave, I Love You, Man, Observe and Report, The Cable Guy.

[spoiler]

Honestly a really good look at what it's like to be around a soul-crushing narcissist without being so depressing that it makes you want to leave. Tim Robinson knows how to hit my funnybone...and terrify me.

Basically a very long ITYSL bit (though that does it some injustice as a drama) and I was satisfied by it. I need more...[/spoiler]

Pretty darn weird, but pretty darn fun. Approach with the right mindset - it’s an extended sketch. There’s no cohesive central plot. It’s the closest you’ll get to a Napoleon Dynamite in 2025

**I'm in charge now.** I Think You Should Leave sprinkled throughout a full length runtime, and it works. Robinson's chaotic humour was perfectly balanced throughout the story. It's cringey, it's hilarious but not enough emotional weight to the characters. _Worth watching._

"I orgasmed in the sewers"

This is an interesting watch if not essentially a long hangout with an I Think You Should Leave character. I just wanted a little bit more. It kind of gets there by the end but something was missing for me

Robinson is polarizing. You hate him or you don't. In actuality I often do both simultaneously.
Needed more sloppy steaks. His schtick can get old or you can embrace it. There were takes they left in where the actor opposite ol' Craigy lost their composure and broke in otherwise serious scenes. Extra pts for that. Felt like a blooper real.
It's uneven, but I still liked it. Could have a completely different score on another night. 6.6 today.