One of Them Days
Synopsis: Two LA women rush around the city to put together rent money before eviction.
One thing going wrong could bring your dream to a screeching halt. Especially in Los Angeles. Stuck in traffic, missing an audition for the role you were born to play. That commercial could’ve made you the next Flo the Insurance Lady. May as well move back to Des Moines. Consider Dreux…
Dreux (Keke Palmer) is closing in on thirty and sharing an apartment –basic and overpriced– with Alyssa (SZA). She has carefully constructed a house of cards that supports her dream of getting ahead. Dreux (rhymes with blue) is 15 credits shy of a college degree, majoring in business. She works the overnight shift at a diner. She has an interview for a manager’s job within 24 hours. She splits rent with Alyssa…
Longtime friend Alyssa is an artist, so her income is feast or famine. Most of her work seems to be propped against the walls in the messy apartment. When Dreux gets home she trips over the many shoes of Alyssa’s bf Keshawn (Joshua David Neal). He’s a self-described entrepreneur (with no income) trading his sex appeal for a rent-free place to live.
Dreux flops into bed, fixes her night mask and bang, bang, bang! the landlord, Uche, is at the door demanding the rent. Dreux says Alyssa paid. But Alyssa gave her bf the money to pass onto Uche and he had other ideas for the cash. He later explains to Alyssa that he invested the money in his t-shirt business, which hasn’t gotten off the ground. Dreux is spitting mad…
The landlord informed Dreux that if he doesn’t have the $1500 monthly rent by 11:59 PM their sh** will be out on the curb. Alyssa, a chill woman, tries to placate Dreux, telling her that they’ll just find the now MIA bf and get the cash back. There is no Bank of Mom & Dad. And so begins their race thru LA to recover the cash.
I couldn’t help but compare the characters’ financial situation to the stars’ successful careers. SZA, who’s collaborated with one of LA’s finest, Kendrick Lamar, has seen her singing career explode in the past few years. Keke Palmer distinguished herself when she was just a kid, as the lead in Akeelah and the Bee. Since then, she’s performed in Jordan Peele’s Nope, along with her own talk show, and hosted a gameshow.
I am glad that the talented stars don’t have money troubles. IRL Keke has had man troubles. Her baby daddy publicly shamed her for dancing with Usher in something body-baring. Yeah, dancing with Usher? Bad move. But the woman can wear what she wants. Meanwhile, SZA has had anxiety dealing with the pressures of fame. But this hasn’t stopped her from speaking out against whippets (the misuse of nitrous oxide, not the little doggoes) and haters bullying Megan Thee Stallion for speaking out against the man who shot her. In One of Them Days, Dreux and Alyssa don’t have time to cater to any man because they need that rent money…
The women do reconnaissance around the neighborhood because Keshawn isn’t answering his phone. The word is that he might be snuggling up to Berniece. Now, I don’t know how many Bernieces are in their area, but this Berniece is also known as Big Booty Berniece which kinda explains why Keshawn is interested in her. If she is with Keshawn, they better watch out. BBB is known for a few things, one of which is dangerous: her butt, her fine wig collection and her badass fighting skills. Who knows, maybe her big booty is marshalled in some of her fight moves.
Running around LA trying to get a loan (a staffer laughs at their credit scores), sell blood (sadly $1500 worth of blood cannot be safely given) and brainstorming about what they could sell doesn’t leave Dreux time to prep for her interview or flirt with her crush, Maniac (Patrick Cage II). Maniac’s looks and manners are fine. But Why the name Maniac? Dreux tries to discern from their brief interactions if he’s the kind of maniac who slays on the dance floor (dateable) or the kind who literally slays (not dateable).
One of Them Days, is a comedy, not a docu on affordable housing in America, but it did make me think of housing shortages in LA and NYC. It’s a maddening irony that where the jobs are, people can’t afford rent. Plenty of people are sharing apartments and they’re still paying more than half of their FT income on rent. The movie characters’ laments about landlords not doing repairs or even keeping buildings safe is a real-world problem.
Another real-world problem? No time or money for a hair salon appointment before your big interview. Keke’s Dreux will have to face a middle-aged white man and a Black woman with a perfect weave.
Repairing a friendship, chasing down rent money and nailing a job interview on the same day is a lot. But Black women have a lot of experience with multitasking, so you can bet that Alyssa and Dreux will win out. And Keke and SZA will probably be alright too.
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