“One of Them Days” is the first theatrical R-rated female-driven Black comedy since 2017’s “Girls Trip,” and that is a shocking statistic. Released in theaters in mid-January of this year, “One of Them Days” was a modest hit, making $49 million off a budget of $14 million. The movie’s high-concept premise, two friends/roommates have just one day to come up with $1,500 rent money otherwise get evicted, doesn’t pretend to break new ground, and doesn’t try hard either. You know what you are going to get the second you watch the film’s trailer. The best you can hope for in a movie like this will be that it provides a few laughs. Unfortunately, ‘One of Them Days” forget that part.
I knew, going in, this movie wasn’t likely to deliver a rib-tickling experience, but sometimes a crap shoot comes up sevens, so I took a chance. Plus, my entire family was suffering from whatever brutal virus was going around, so with a fever-induced brain space, I sat down on a Saturday night to watch this 97-minute shenanigan-filled buddy film unfold.
To the best of my knowledge, the film’s stars, Keke Palmer and SZA, are not comedians, and it shows. There is nothing wrong with either’s performance, but they don’t exactly know how to deliver comedically. Both are appealing performers, but something is missing that prevents a few comic areas from breaking through. Would trained comics have made the film any funnier? I don’t know. Comedian Katt Williams shows up in a minor role and isn’t given anything funny to do either, so maybe the issues lie with the writer and director.
The plot, as thin as it is, hinges on Palmer’s diner waitress, Dreux Jones, and her artist roommate, Alyssa, moving into crisis mode when Alyssa unwisely lets her untrusting boyfriend Keshawn pay the rent—which he, of course, does not. Cue the shenanigans; trust me when I say this film is a boatload of shenanigans. In this case, the madcap antics are plenty but devoid of laughs.
There is some amusing social commentary baked within the story of “One of Them Days,” like the movie’s sardonic take on predatory payday loan companies, but aside from a few chuckles here and there, I was mostly going through the motions as this movie ticked off its comedy trope boxes.
Every time it looks as if Dreux and Alyssa are going to get out of their financial jam, a new obstacle gets in the way. Naturally, the plot hinges on an important interview for Dreux, which, if she aces, will get her that dream manager’s job at Norm’s Diner. Yeah, I know. Dream big. But don’t worry, kiddos, this is a situation comedy, so you know it’s going to all come out right as rain in the end. Alyssa’s art is discovered through more shenanigans, and they make the rent. Bad guys are foiled, and love interests are kindled. If I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, by the time this film hit its third act, my RSV-induced fever had spiked to over 100 degrees, and I was nearly hallucinating that I had dreamt of watching this movie. My family assured me it was all too real, and no one else thought the movie was particularly funny. But, when you are sick, and you’ve seen pretty much everything else available, maybe “One of Them Days” is the perfect thing.
James Kent is the arts editor for The Mountain Times.
