Friendship – Cringe, the American Way
Written by Dr. Zoe Crombie
Modern Britain, for all its many faults, is exceptionally good at cringe comedy. The 21st century has seen shows like Peep Show, Extras, and The Inbetweeners all become cult classics for making us want to crawl into ourselves and die. But America is catching up, and Tim Robinson in particular has given our record a run for its money with his cult Netflix hit I Think You Should Leave, and more recently the feature length cringe fest Friendship.
The film sets up a classic Robinson character – a white-collar worker disastrously unaware of social cues and appropriate behaviour – against Paul Rudd’s Austin, a local weatherman. The result the building and breakdown of a friendship between the two, and much like in 2022’s The Banshees of Inisherin, things get ugly for both the players and the audience. Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, the film plays perfectly to Robinson’s strengths as a comedian, putting him in situations that continually test the audience’s tolerance for his unbearable to watch actions.
A must see for fans of Robinson’s style of comedy, Friendship is a tough watch in the funniest kind of way, finding humour in every crevice of the some of the most wince inducing situations put to the cinema screen.
See Friendship between the 18th - 24th, 30th & 31st July.
