Film review: ‘ONE OF THEM DAYS’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built for Speed’
Some silly humour and 80’s movie “hooray for entrepreneurial capitalism” clichés aside, One Of Them Days is a vibrant, sassy feel-good comedy that celebrates and affectionately jokes with African American culture.
The set up in this film is pretty familiar, having seen it in movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Due Date, where the responsible person’s life is constantly thrown into turmoil by a freewheeling, irresponsible friend. Here, fast food waitress Dreux (Keke Palmer (Nope, Hustlers)) is the responsible one while her trouble-prone flatmate, uncommitted artist Alyssa (singer SZA) is the main source of chaos in her life. When Alyssa’s dodgy boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua Neal) makes off with their rent money, Dreux and Alyssa find themselves in a crazy, disaster-ridden odyssey as they race across LA trying to recover the cash. Hanging over their heads are possible eviction, death threats from a violent gangster and for Dreux the loss of a life-changing new job. Their situation just keeps getting worse as every attempt to recover the money is thwarted.
The comedy here is pretty broad with plenty of pratfalls, goofball antics, ludicrous fight scenes and even some gore. Audience reactions at the preview varied with older folks smirking occasionally and younger people screaming with laughter.
Even if people don’t find the gags especially funny, few could deny that this film has an appealing fizzy energy and vigorous sense of fun. While director Lawrence Lamont and writer Syreeta Singleton have cleverly structured the film as an obstacle course across LA, much of the credit for this film’s energy goes to the leads, Palmer and SZA. They have an undeniable chemistry and their exasperated but affectionate exchanges make them sound like two old friends.
Palmer ensures Dreux isn’t just a comedy cypher but a more rounded person who is ballsy but vulnerable and likeable enough that audience members were audibly rooting for her. SZA, in her first film role, looks perfectly comfortable in front of the camera and immediately dispelled any thoughts of stunt casting. She seems to have a gift for comedy but also shows enough nuance in her performance that a more varied film career looks likely. A large ensemble of supporting players provide some decent comic foils and a lively community surrounding Dreux and Alyssa.
Also, while this film is hardly a sociological exercise, it manages to explore some enclaves of LA’s African American culture that we don’t often see in film.
One of Them Days drifts into clichéd territory and resorts to overly convenient resolutions toward the end but for most of its running time it’s a lively and fun twist on the buddy comedy.
Nick’s rating: ***
Genre: Comedy.
Classification: MA15+.
Director(s): Lawrence Lamont.
Release date: 6th Mar 2025.
Running time: 97 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.