‘One Of Them Days’ review: SZA and Keke Palmer team up for a chaotic romp

Grammy-winning R&B star SZA makes her big-screen debut in One Of Them Days, teaming up with Hollywood heavyweight Keke Palmer for a buddy comedy that has already outperformed box office expectations in the US. Directed by Lawrence Lamont, produced by Issa Rae and written by Rap Sh!t’s Syreeta Singleton, the film gives the tired two-best-friends-navigating-chaos formula a modern, Black female-led makeover – think Friday meets Broad City but with a Gen-Z edge.

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Palmer plays Dreux, a hustling diner waitress with big dreams, whose free-spirited artist pal Alyssa (SZA) coasts through life on vibes and charisma alone. Together, they just about  make ends meet in the concrete jungle  of LA. Things soon take a turn for the  worse when Alyssa’s deadbeat boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) uses their rent money to start his “Cucci” fashion line. Alyssa and Dreux have only nine hours to scrape together $1500 to avoid being booted out onto the streets by their landlord. What follows is a frantic romp across the city, filled with scams, quick schemes and absurd encounters.

For the first hour, One Of Them Days is a rush of wild, high-energy action and relentless, laugh-out-loud comedy. Between “Big Booty” Berniece (Aziza Scott) hunting the accident-prone duo down for breaking into her flat and Alyssa getting zapped while stealing a dead man’s Jordan trainers off an electric power line, there are plenty of very funny moments to enjoy. Plus, cameos from comedy legends Katt Williams, Janelle James and Lil Rel Howery add extra punch, seamlessly slotting into the madness with their eccentric energy.

Eventually, Berniece finally gets to put her hands on Dreux and Alyssa just as their fortunes seem about to change. This is where the film loses its focus. Instead of letting the story naturally unfold, the writers rush us in two new directions: gangster King Lolo (Amin Joseph) pops up ready to extort Dreux and Alyssa over the stolen Jordans and rich neighbour Bethany (Maude Apatow) slides into frame and a new subplot around selling art emerges. 

While both additions add laughs, neither gets any real space to develop properly. At one point, Dreux and Alyssa get into an argument over a lost job and aren’t really speaking – but this beef fizzles out without any resolution and it’s as if nothing happened. If given more time – maybe in a miniseries – these subplots could’ve had a bigger impact, but here they’re just frustrating distractions.

Despite its problems though, One Of Them Days still makes for a fun ride. This is largely down to Palmer and SZA’s undeniable chemistry, perfectly capturing the sometimes chaotic, deeply loyal nature of female friendship. Throughout the film, SZA shows serious promise as an actor and Palmer puts in another effortlessly engaging performance. With a tighter second half, it could’ve been something special – instead, it fumbles the bag slightly.

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