I walked into a movie theater on Saturday with a low-lying background fear of one day having to find an apartment. It was just another one of those growing-up anxieties, an apprehension of something I don’t yet know how to do—like cooking a complex meal or performing CPR on a baby. I left that theater absolutely terrified of finding an apartment, because apparently paying rent involves dodging enraged ladies with red hair, risking electrocution while fishing valuable Jordans off a power line, and having blood drawn by an ex-stripper with a gut-sinkingly low level of confidence. But if One Of Them Days horrified me as to what my adult years would involve, at least it made me laugh copiously at the same time.
The movie, directed by Lawrence Lamont, follows two best friends, plan-based aspiring professional Dreux (Keke Palmer) and trust-in-the-universe artist Alyssa (SZA), after they discover that Alyssa’s useless boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) has taken the rent money he was supposed to give to their landlord and sunk it into a clothing line project of his. (The line’s name—like “Gucci,” but switch the “G” for a “C”—is one of several moments that surely earned this movie its “R” rating.)
The bond between Dreux and Alyssa is, from the start, believable and wonderful to watch. Alyssa absolutely believes in Dreux as she chases a corporate job, breaking into a mock-interview as she drives the lady home from work. Dreux, meanwhile, knows both how to mess with her friend when she thinks she’s arrived late to pick her up, and how to urge her, with true seriousness, to believe in her abilities. Beyond these two, though, One Of Them Days abound with hilarious people: consider Lucky (Katt Williams), a ratty local who desperately tries to dissuade people from borrowing money from the local payday loan outfit, even to the point of pleading through the window with those who have already entered the building. Keshawn, as well, is worth a few laughs: he tries to initiate an unwanted hug with Alyssa and Dreux, twice…and the second time comes after the room they’re hiding in catches on fire.
But this movie is more than a mere collection of personalities: it is undergirded by Syreeta Singleton’s deft script, neither sitting still nor hurtling emptily by. Our two heroines might bounce from place to place, but in between, they make time to fight with a high-and-mighty loan provider (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), become embroiled in what I called “blood pandemonium” in my notes, and jump out of an ambulance when they realize they can’t afford to ride it. At the same time, Singleton manages to fit notes into this madcap journey about the world her characters live in, and how unfair it is: for instance, Dreux and Alyssa get to visit the apartment of their new white neighbor Bethany (Maude Apatow), which their landlord has made pristine at the same time that he’s let every other tenant’s apartment crumble (in a building where almost everyone is Black.) The social commentary fits neatly into the story—Dreux and Alyssa are shown living a difficult life, but one that includes much to laugh at.
I’m not the only one ready to sing this movie’s praises, either. “I really loved it,” said senior Miles Kelley, with whom I saw the film. “It reminds me of a lot of buddy comedy movies that I like.”
Indeed, I believe we of January 2025 are witnessing the birth of a new classic, and I urge you all to buy tickets without delay. Meanwhile, I can only hope that, for all I have heard of the insanities of the housing market, when I one day find a place to live, I will not have to snatch shoes off an active power line to do so.
