Tim Robinson’s Friendship Argues that Some Men Deserve to Be Lonely
Photo by Spencer Pazer, courtesy of A24
Is there a male loneliness epidemic, or is it more of a male idiocy epidemic? That’s the question poised by Friendship, a new comedy written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, but that is so in sync with star Tim Robinson’s distinct comedic voice that you’d be excused for assuming he made it himself.
Robinson plays Craig, a boring suburban nebbish whose cancer-recovering wife is obviously depressed (Kate Mara), whose teenage son is clearly counting the days until he can leave (Jack Dylan Grazer), and whose direct reports at his middle management job don’t even try to hide their contempt for him. Craig seems blithely unaware of all of this, making mundane small-talk about the latest Marvel movie while his family basically ignores him, and spending his nights in front of the TV. The kind of excitement he didn’t even know he missed enters Craig’s life when he meets his new neighbor, the local weatherman Austin Carmichael, played by Paul Rudd with the mustache and slightly sleazy charm of his Anchorman character. Austin is the too-cool friend of Craig’s dreams, and after only two hangs Craig fantasizes about the life they’ll have together as best friends.
If you’ve ever seen any of Tim Robinson’s work before, you know Craig will screw this whole thing up. And he does, in gloriously uncomfortable fashion, systematically ruining every aspect of his life due to his obsession with Austin and the promise of having a cool, adventurous friend.
Much has been made about how Friendship is rooted in the fairly common belief that men today struggle to form close friendships and are suffering from a debilitating, pervasive sense of loneliness. Every man in Friendship appears to have healthy, normal friendships, though—except Craig. Austin has a tight network of buddies who support each other emotionally. Craig’s employees are relaxed and casual with each other as they hang out in the office and take smoke breaks together. Craig’s son has friends he’d rather spend time with than his parents. Craig’s problems aren’t some kind of larger social phenomenon preventing men from becoming friends with each other; Craig’s problems stem from his own awkwardness, inability to read social cues, and lack of empathy and understanding for others. They’re a result of Craig being a Tim Robinson character, with all the increasingly painful and anxious discomfort that entails.
Friendship is so totally in Robinson’s Q Zone that it feels kind of like an extra-long sketch from I Think You Should Leave—a common observation, but an accurate one. If it was split into six 15-minute episodes it could easily be his show’s next season. It’s even more cringeworthy than Robinson’s comedy usually is, though, because the awkwardness and misery compounds throughout its 100 minutes; things take a fatal turn when Craig meets Austin’s friends, and from there Friendship becomes the sustained, unrelenting collapse of one man’s life in slow motion. It’s funny, yes, but also very hard to watch.