One of Them Days Review
One of Them Days (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Lawrence Lamont, written by Syreeta Singleton and starring Keke Palmer, SZA, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Lil Rel Howery, Katt Williams, Maude Apatow, Patrick Cage, Gabrielle Dennis, Janelle James, Amin Joseph, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Joshua David Neal, Dewayne Perkins, Aziza Scott, Rizi Timane, Dustin Ybarra and Ray Santiago.
Keke Palmer is a burst of bright energy, and she certainly doesn’t disappoint in the hysterically funny new comedy from director Lawrence Lamont titled One of Them Days. Feeling like it could have been released in the 1980’s or 1990’s if it didn’t include the use of cell phones and social media in the plot, One of Them Days is the type of movie that is full of non-stop hijinks and wild humor. It misses the mark at times with some of its goofy comedy in the beginning but, eventually, the film becomes so winning that one won’t be able to stop watching the two lead female characters go through their comic paces.
Palmer plays a working-class waitress named Dreux who hangs out with her broke artist best friend, Alyssa (SZA), who Dreux trusts with the rent money. Unfortunately, Alyssa’s current deadbeat boyfriend has invested in a dead-end shirt business with the cash which will leave our two lovable girls scrambling for funds to pay the landlord. Alyssa and Dreux end up trying to sell their blood for $70 a piece but end up with apple pie vouchers for the local fast food chicken joint. As the ladies walk through the drive-thru, they end up seeing their food get “jacked” by a drive-thru thief. Dreux has a job interview for a higher-up position at 4 PM but she will have to get through one crazy day to make it to the interview and beyond.
At one point, Alyssa gets electrocuted while trying to get a pair of Jordan sneakers off a line that they’re hanging on. She nabs the sneakers and finds a buyer for them (Lil Rel Howery) but the original owner of the sneakers, King Lolo (Amin Joseph), comes around demanding $5k for the sneakers after they’re sold for less than half that. On top of that, Alyssa and Dreux ultimately find their furniture out on the street unless they can come up with $1500 to move back into their apartment.
One of Them Days is highly unpredictable. Just when you think the plot will go one way, the filmmakers present some scenarios that are just downright funny and will steer the viewer away from their original expectations. We meet a guy named Maniac (Patrick Cage) who drives a Mercedes and takes a liking to one of our lovely ladies. Unfortunately, the pressures of the day mount and the lead characters must endure one surprise after another in an attempt to save themselves from becoming homeless.
This movie would be a lot less exciting without Palmer. She possesses the tremendous energy that makes the humor get progressively more entertaining the more the picture goes on. SZA holds her own beside her as the likable screw-up, Alyssa. Maude Apatow shines bright as Bethany, a new neighbor of the leading characters who starts to see potential in Alyssa’s artwork. Apatow has an appealing presence that makes it possible to see her as a future star in the making. Keyla Monterroso Mejia is on-point as a high interest loan shop employee who laughs at Dreux’s unbelievably low credit score. Mejia steals the show with only two brief scenes in the picture. Katt Williams is predictably funny as the prophet who tries to warn Alyssa and Dreux about the loan shop’s deceptive practices.
Much of One of Them Days revolves around Dreux getting to her job interview to secure herself a highly sought-after new job position. This movie can make one think of funny pictures like Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead or Friday. This new film realistically shows the high need for financial prosperity while exaggerating a lot of its humor in the interim in order to entertain viewers and that it certainly does.
One of Them Days works so well because it counts down the time until the deadline to pay the rent and the other deadline to pay off King Lolo. Not knowing where the plot will take us next is the film’s most prized asset. There’s a lot of fun on this journey where the character development is also very skillfully conveyed. The ladies are different people at the end than they were at the beginning of the movie.
Keke Palmer has always been a formidable screen presence. She creates with SZA the perfect best friends whose loyalties are tested as the plot goes on. The movie employes sophisticated low brow humor all the while keeping us entertained with a plot that moves ahead at lightning speed. Palmer is the movie’s most valuable player, for sure.
If One of Them Days resolves its central dilemmas a bit too easily, it also doesn’t play games and waste the audience’s time with banal situations. You’ll get a big kick out of watching our two wonderful stars running all around while playing characters who try to improve their way of life and secure their friendship. The humor is relatable despite feeling too offbeat for its own good at times. This is, overall, a good comedic time even if you’ll probably forget some of it shortly after seeing it.
Rating: 7/10
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