NEW YORK (OSV News) – The buddy comedy “One of Them Days” (TriStar) certainly comes equipped with a high energy level. Its frenzied proceedings, however, are sometimes vulgar and ultimately prove wearisome.
Aspiring restaurant manager Dreux (Keke Palmer) and easy-go-lucky artist Alyssa (SZA) are best friends and roommates. After Alyssa makes the mistake of entrusting Keshawn (Joshua David Neal), the deadbeat boyfriend with whom she is shacked up, with the pals’ monthly rent money, he squanders it, leaving them scrambling to avoid immediate eviction.
As the duo try taking out a usurious loan, attempt to give blood for cash and seek to sell a pair of expensive sneakers, screenwriter Syreeta Singleton and director Lawrence Lamont try to garner laughs from life in the dodgy Los Angeles neighborhood the pair call home. But their portraits of local personalities feel more like caricatures.
Dreux eventually embarks on a pleasantly shy romance with a somewhat mysterious gent who goes by the odd nickname Maniac (Patrick Cage). Yet this element of the plot swiftly gets lost in the mix.
Typical of the movie’s overall tenor is the fact that almost no one on screen seems to know any term for a woman that doesn’t begin with a B.
The film contains cohabitation, drug use, much sexual humor, including anatomical sight gags, about a half-dozen profanities, frequent milder swearing and pervasive rough and crude language. The OSV News classification is O – morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.