"Friendship" Is Basically A Long, "I Think You Should Leave" Episode, And It's As Hilarious As It Sounds

In lawsuit it hasn't landed connected your radar yet, Friendship is simply a caller ~wild~ drama movie from A24 starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. The speedy transportation is: Suburban dad, Craig (Robinson) falls hard for his charismatic caller neighbour (Paul Rudd), but Craig's attempts to marque an big antheral person endanger to ruin some of their lives.

A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

And let's conscionable say, if you're a instrumentality of the amusement I Think You Should Leave, this volition beryllium 1000% up your alley due to the fact that the movie feels similar an extra-long occurrence of that show. And it's great, 10/10 would recommend.

A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

Because I bask a bully deep-dive into things I like, present are immoderate absorbing behind-the-scenes facts astir the movie I conscionable learned:

1. This is writer-director Andrew DeYoung's debut diagnostic film. His erstwhile credits see directing for shows similar Our Flag Means Death, Pen15, and Shrill.

2. Although the penning and jokes look ~very~ Tim Robinson, helium was shockingly not a writer (or adjacent co-writer) connected it.

3. However, DeYoung says that Tim did travel to caput portion penning his script. "Thankfully, helium said 'yes' erstwhile I sent it [the script] to him," helium told Entertainment Weekly.

4. DeYoung and Robinson are really bully friends IRL, which possibly explains wherefore DeYoung was capable to seizure Tim Robinson's comedic dependable truthful good successful the film.

5. You mightiness deliberation determination was a ton of improv successful the film, but apparently, Robinson doesn't similar improv. According to DeYoung, they did bash it [improv], arsenic Rudd is "exceptional" astatine it. But portion a fewer things made it into the movie, for the astir portion what you spot was written connected the page.

6. Part of DeYoung's inspiration was his ain relationship "issues" IRL. He explained, "A fewer years ago, I had my ain Friendship issues that I was trying to resolve, and I realized that I’d ne'er seen a breakup communicative astir 2 middle-aged men. It’s thing that’s happening each the time. It’s tragic but it’s besides profoundly funny."

7. And interestingly, DeYoung wrote the publication successful 2020 during the pandemic.

8. Another astonishing inspiration for the movie was really Paul Thomas Anderson's movie The Master — a melodramatic communicative astir a guru who becomes dangerously entangled with 1 of his acolytes.

9. And Robinson was instantly connected committee with that concept. DeYoung said, "When I finished the Friendship screenplay, I told Tim that I had written it for him and that I wanted to sprout the communicative similar it was The Master. He got close backmost to maine and conscionable said, ‘Great, let’s bash it.'"

10. Originally, the supporting relation of Austin was a smaller part, which DeYoung says "made attracting endowment trickier than expected."

11. And the portion of Austin was really rewritten for Paul Rudd. DeYoung explained, "It [the script] got to Paul Rudd, and it was conscionable wide however astonishing that would be."

12. In fact, Paul Rudd's quality was primitively named Brian. But past Rudd pointed retired that "Brian" was the sanction of his quality successful Anchorman, who is ALSO a quality guy.

13. And it was Paul Rudd who pitched the sanction "Austin" alternatively of Brian.

14. As for the relation of Tami, played by Kate Mara, DeYoung wanted Robinson to enactment against idiosyncratic not traditionally known for comedy.

15. In fact, Mara was 1 of the archetypal radical pitched to DeYoung. He told Entertainment Weekly, "I met her and instantly was like, 'Yeah, you're perfect. Let's bash this.'"

16. "Spiritual emptiness" is simply a taxable DeYoung wanted to truly stress successful the movie saying that successful today's society, "capital has replaced religion." He continued, "I wanted to constituent to that, and to the astir spiritual grasp that companies similar Marvel person connected our culture."

17. Echoing that bare feeling, they really filmed successful ice-cold upwind — upstate New York successful January and February for 23 days.

18. And, contempt the movie being a comedy, DeYoung didn't privation the assemblage to consciousness "safe oregon settled."

19. Finally, to stress that uneasy feeling, the filmmakers utilized arsenic overmuch earthy lighting arsenic possible. In fact, they took inspiration from the 2018 intelligence thriller Burning. In particular, they looked to a country wherever the characters successful that movie are sitting extracurricular astatine sunset. "We were reaching for thing akin and to bring it into a comedy, wherever everybody’s defender is down," said DeYoung.

Unless different noted, facts were sourced from the film's accumulation notes.