One of Them Days

Friday meets Dude, Where’s My Car? with a femme twist in One of Them Days, a throwback comedy that makes one wish more filmmakers would harken back to ’90s-style yuks.

Taking place over the course of a single day, the LA-set romp involves roommates Dreux (Keke Palmer, Nope) and Alyssa (R&B star SZA) navigating a host of colorful characters as they attempt to retrieve their lost rent money and avoid eviction.

Packed with zingers and inspired visual gags, Insecure writer Syreeta Singleton’s hilarious feature debut script is done justice by a game cast of comedic talent, as well as the steady hand of music video director Lawrence Lamont, who makes his impressive feature directorial debut after helming multiple episodes of the Max series Rap Sh!t (though, oddly enough, not the two penned by Singleton).

The consistently zany antics that the screenwriter cooks up elevate a fairly rote, predictable plot, and the skewering of such poverty-exacerbating entities as cash-advance services and sports gambling provide a welcome layer of social commentary lacking from the bulk of funny movies.

It’s only January, but a high bar for Year’s Best Comedy has already been set.

Grade: B. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Sony Pictures)