Yahoo Lifestyle We Need More Black Women Buddy Comedies
When you Google “Black women buddy comedies,” the search engine’s What to Watch section only produces a handful of results. There’s 1997’s “B.A.P.S.,” 2017’s “Girls Trip” (which stars an ensemble of four) and, surprisingly, 1995’s “Waiting to Exhale” (a quartet-led movie that should technically be considered a romantic drama). Beyond that, there are virtually no other examples to stack against the dozens of male buddy comedies or even the female buddy comedies starring white women released in the 21st century alone.
From “Baby Mama” and “Bridesmaids” to “The Heat” and “Booksmart,” the list of movies with funny women duos and other variations is lengthier than that for Black women particularly.
A new buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA is looking to change that, though.
“One Of Them Days” — written by “Rap Sh!t” showrunner Syreeta Singleton and directed by Lawrence Lamont — is the first buddy comedy led by Black women released in nearly eight years (and the first starring a duo in almost three decades). It reunites Palmer and SZA after their lauded 2022 “Saturday Night Live” appearance, and features a host of familiar faces and comedians, including Katt Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Maude Apatow, Janelle James, Vanessa Bell Calloway and Keyla Monterroso Mejia.
The South Los Angeles-set film, co-produced by Issa Rae, follows a wacky day in the life of two broke besties/roommates Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA, in her acting debut), as they race against the eviction clock after the latter’s freeloading boyfriend (Joshua Neal) blows all of their rent money. Tasked with conjuring up $1,500 by the end of the day — and helping Dreux nail a corporate job interview that could change their lives — the pair’s quick cash pursuit results in a ridiculous set of adventures that make for a rousing laugh-out-loud treat.
In usual buddy comedy fashion, the chaotic plot in “One Of Them Days” is filled with hilarious hijinks, all courtesy of Alyssa and Dreux’s doomed-to-fail money schemes — from a messy blood bank blunder and power-line sneaker sale to a last resort attempt to borrow funds from the local payday-loan spot.
The campy comedy also carves out a semi-heartening arc, spotlighting the two women’s ride-or-die friendship and the challenges they struggle to overcome, both as a pair and as individuals. While Dreux’s no-nonsense attitude drives her to aspire to become more than a lowly-paid waitress, free-spirit Alyssa grapples with getting out of her manifestation bubble to turn her full-time painter dreams into a fully realized reality.
There’s a particular charm to “One Of Them Days” that finally revives the Black women buddy comedy for audiences who have been starved of one for almost 30 years, a fact that Rae pointed out in a recent interview with Deco Drive.
“We haven’t seen Black female buddy comedies since ‘B*A*P*S’ and even ‘Girls Trip,’” she noted, “but buddy comedy specifically, where it’s a duo.”
That would explain fans’ excitement — Black Twitter specifically— when the “One Of Them Days” trailer debuted this past fall. Not only because it stars beloved multi-hyphenate Palmer, Grammy-winning singer SZA, and other Hollywood favorites, but also because it marks one of very few times two Black women are front and center in a high-profile buddy comedy.
To truly understand that significance, one only needs to look at our short history in the subgenre.
In 1997, filmmaker Robert Townsend introduced the idea of two Black actresses helming a buddy comedy when he cast Halle Berry and the late Natalie Desselle-Reid as Georgia homegirls Nisi and Mickey, respectively, in “B.A.P.S.” (short for Black American Princesses). The movie sees the eccentric Southern duo fly to Los Angeles in hopes of landing a long-shot music video audition, only to find themselves getting duped into scamming a wealthy dying millionaire for $10,000, plus room and board, in his fancy Beverly Hills mansion.
The goofy rags-to-riches story, albeit absurd in theory, was ahead of its time, per less-than-stellar reviews from film critics. It showed a range of Black women’s experiences, both joyous and fun, but also tough and riddled with hardships, in a comedic scenario (with a happy-ever-after, no less) that went unappreciated when it was first released. Still, the endearing comedy became a cult classic years later for audiences who recognized the niche space it carved for Black women that hadn’t existed in comedic films before.
Much of that is credited to Berry and Desselle’s undeniable synergy as a comedy duo, whose impact is still inspiring today.
“One Of Them Days” director Lamont mentioned in an interview with Macro that there was “no true reference” for his movie — though it still makes nods to the “Friday” franchise and other Black ’90s classics — but Townsend’s “B.A.P.S.” “was the closest.”
“That [movie] made me think about the times I saw Black women in prominent roles, how that made me feel,” he added.
It’s not the only one that gave funny Black women the buddy comedy spotlight.
The other instance of Black women featured prominently in that film canon is “Girls Trip,” which arrived 20 years after “B.A.P.S.” tried to make its mark. The Malcolm D. Lee-directed film upped the ante this time with a college bestie foursome — affectionately nicknamed the Flossy Posse — that reunites at Essence Festival (Black women’s annual summer pilgrimage to New Orleans) to rekindle their longtime bond.
Unlike its predecessor, the raunchy R-rated flick made a massive splash upon release, with numerous rave reviews praising its heartwarming message about Black sisterhood and female-driven comedy. Perhaps because it depicted Black women’s experiences more realistically (or acceptingly) than “B.A.P.S.” Nonetheless, “Girls Trip” picked up the torch and filled in gaps Hollywood seemed uninterested in catering to up until then.
The market for mainstream Black comedies hadn’t been particularly robust in the early aughts or 2010s, especially those good enough to earn critics’ approval. Black women buddy comedies weren’t even on the radar. However, record box-office numbers proved that “Girls Trip” was an outlier and a necessary offering that could open more doors for the genre.
A lot of that, of course, had to do with the pairing of Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tiffany Haddish and Regina Hall, the latter two best known for their comedic chops, and a hysterical script written by Tracy Oliver and Kenya Barris. Together, that formula cooked up a comical cultural story that put “Girls Trip” in the same conversation as smash staples like “The Hangover” and “Bridesmaids.” It even paved the way for an upcoming sequel (though there’s still no release date).
It also offered a glimmer of hope that Black women buddy comedies could see the light of day again, even if a years-long hiatus followed. Its commercial success alone is a testament to audiences’ appetite for the subgenre. Hence why, Rae, Lamont, Singleton and the producers of “One Of Them Days” saw fit to bring another lighthearted flick about us to the big screen.
Buddy comedies may be silly in nature, but they’re a space Black women are more than capable of occupying — Palmer and SZA’s performances are proof. Contrary to what Hollywood reflects, comedy exists in Black womanhood, from the privacy of our group chats and sleepover wind-downs to our social media timelines. We thrive and, at times, survive on humor to get us through our biggest hardships, and we lean on each other when we need support most. Yet, that’s hardly mirrored in mainstream entertainment, much less the buddy comedy canon.
There’s still time to correct that, though.
It’s too early to tell if “One Of Them Days” will make more headway than its precursors and give Black women buddy comedies staying power in film. However, its early success is making a strong case for its potential.
In the days leading up to its premiere, “One Of Them Days” earned glowing reviews and a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, a pleasant surprise for the first major comedy release of the year. Its meme-worthy dialogue and scenes are sure to make the rounds on social media once it hits theaters-wide, which, hopefully, won’t be forgotten by the end of 2025.
With enough support, the next great “One Of Them Days” blockbuster may not have to wait another decade to arrive. The film itself has the potential to jumpstart a new era of comedic storytelling for Black women. That’s if it can defy Hollywood’s low expectations for comedies and Black female-led productions.
“There is a pressure for it to be successful so that studios and the industry can always do that thing where it’s like, ‘Oh, Black people wanna see this. Oh, women are coming to movies,’” Rae recently told HuffPost.
Her dream is to see “One Of Them Days” become “a classic that’s referenced with the other canon of our iconic films.”
We can only hope that’ll be the case one day. Maybe then Hollywood will start affirming funny Black women duos and give them the films they deserve.
“One Of Them Days” is now playing in theaters.
