There’s a ragged charm running through One of Them Days, a buddy comedy that doesn’t so much reinvent the genre as remind us why it’s fun in the first place.
Helmed by Lawrence Lamont and written by Syreeta Singleton, the film plants its feet in the sunbaked streets of Los Angeles and follows Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) as they tumble through an increasingly chaotic day trying to scrape together $1,500 in rent money.
It’s a premise straight from the playbook of classic race-against-the-clock comedies, but here it’s powered by two leads whose chemistry feels effortlessly lived-in, crackling with both affection and exasperation.
The film’s release on January 17, 2025, came with both anticipation and curiosity: this was SZA’s acting debut, after all, and Keke Palmer’s first big comedy lead since Hustlers.
Produced by Issa Rae under Hoorae Media and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, One of Them Days arrived with the kind of buzzy pedigree that set expectations high.
It didn’t disappoint: critics largely embraced it, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 94% approval rating across 115 reviews, while audiences echoed that enthusiasm with a 90% audience score.
Financially, it pulled in $11.8 million in its opening weekend, eventually grossing over $51 million—a respectable haul for a mid-budget comedy, especially given a marketing campaign some felt undersold its appeal. The movie is available to stream on Netflix.
The movie’s trailer hinted at its madcap energy, and the final product delivers: a mishmash of blood banks, busted sneakers, and escalating debts that feels like a love letter to the scrappy, vibrant chaos of Baldwin Village.
From a cinematographic standpoint, Ava Berkofsky’s lensing brings both grit and warmth to the cityscape, while Chanda Dancy’s score buoys the action without ever overwhelming it.
There’s a tactile sense of place here; the apartment complex, with its chipped paint and close-knit community, is more than a backdrop—it’s the beating heart of the narrative.
It’s impossible to talk about One of Them Days without lingering on Palmer and SZA’s dynamic.
Palmer, as Dreux, channels a frenetic optimism that’s equal parts ambition and desperation, navigating each setback with a mix of wide-eyed panic and wry resignation.
SZA, meanwhile, slips into Alyssa’s flighty charm with surprising ease, bringing a languid, mischievous spark to every scene she drifts through.
Watching the pair bicker, scheme, and stumble their way toward an uncertain future is the film’s core pleasure; it’s less about whether they succeed and more about the ways their bond is tested and reaffirmed.
The supporting cast doesn’t fade into the background either. Katt Williams chews scenery as Lucky, a hustler whose schemes are as unpredictable as his wardrobe.
Maude Apatow’s Bethany brings a kind of wide-eyed cluelessness that cuts through the film’s otherwise grounded humour.
And in Patrick Cage’s Maniac, Dreux’s love interest, we get a surprising tenderness beneath the bravado—a reminder that even amidst chaos, connections bloom.
While the film leans into slapstick at times, its comedy is laced with biting observations about economic precarity, gentrification, and the quiet absurdities of scraping by in a city that’s both promise and threat.
Singleton’s script doesn’t get bogged down in sentimentality, though; it keeps moving, zigzagging from one misadventure to another with the same jittery momentum as its protagonists.
There are stretches where the pacing wobbles, and some gags overstay their welcome, but the film’s infectious energy smooths over most of its rough patches.
In the end, One of Them Days feels like the kind of comedy that thrives on its imperfections.
It’s messy, loud, sometimes over the top—but always rooted in the undeniable pull of friendship.
By the time Dreux and Alyssa find themselves surrounded by smoke and sirens, their future uncertain but their bond intact, the movie has earned its cathartic release.
It’s not just a race to save their apartment; it’s a scramble to hold onto the things that matter when everything else feels on the verge of collapse.
Whether you come for Keke Palmer’s razor-sharp comic timing or SZA’s disarmingly natural screen presence, One of Them Days delivers a buddy comedy that feels both familiar and refreshingly specific.
In a cinematic landscape where female-led comedies still feel like an anomaly, especially ones centering Black women, this film makes its mark—not by reinventing the genre, but by reminding us that the buddy comedy, when done with heart and bite, still has plenty of mileage left.
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