When I went into this movie knowing that it stars Paul Rudd, what instantly came to my mind was his film, I Love you, Man–primarily because of the concept of a lack of friendship. That film was a hard R comedy with many humorous moments. Friendship has both of those components, but in a darker narrative. It works to still be dark and mutually funny with its undertones. Friendship is one of the most audacious and vibrant films I have seen to date. A bipolar disorder goes to the brink of mania in Friendship.

Friendship is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung. As a director, he captures the mode of mid-life crisis hitting a plateau and then adding many levels on top of it. Friendship’s main character is Craig (played by Tim Robinson). Craig is an introvert with a normal life and family. His wife is Tami (played by Kate Mara), and his son is Steven (played by Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig realizes he has a new neighbor, Austin (Rudd). They begin a “friendship”, but then their relationship becomes competitive over success. However, it is more about Craig overcoming his introverted mode that is the key to the film’s built-up tones of humorous suspense and laughter.

The livelihood is the mix of the film’s layers of success and frustration that create patterns. Craig feels jealous easily, and Austin feels uncomfortable easily. Austin puts up a boundary, and Craig feels disconnected. When Craig gets to the lonesome stage, all bets are off when it comes to his level of maturity. “Maturity” does not exist in Friendship.  The way this is written and presented is a revelation that I found to be astonishing. That is because it keeps finding the components to topple laugh after laugh.

Friendship creates an outlook that makes its audience understand who is reaching the crazy stage. It may look like Craig at one point and then Austin at another. The times where it hits the fan for both of those scenarios are ones to thank Craig for. The wonder of fun is the instant and repeated curiosity to who will fall apart first or go into a tirade that is hard to forget. Robinson and Rudd are a duo of suburban dads, each trying to create a perfectionist personality.

Friendship continues to display how the behavior of Craig is creating a weird environment. This is where the writing continues to be captivating.  The responses are humanistic in nature.  Like Craig’s son and wife, they tend to shift off in their own direction. Craig continually tries with  them and Austin, yet his approach is quite invasive. Of course, though, it only leads to more boundaries. When that happens more disasters, including a scenario with a sewer tunnel, self-destructive behavior, and a lot more angry moments get unpacked. The many curiosities of frustration do provoke laughter with excellence in a bizarre direction  in Friendship.

 If I had to compare, I do feel that the film relates to real-life loneliness, especially in the context of Craig giving in repeatedly in order to feel some sense of satisfaction. That correlation is what stirs the pot with overlapping contingencies and where this screenplay creates the highest peak of disconnect in Friendship. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Friendship.