Whether or not you like Joe Swanberg's latest film, Drinking Buddies essentially boils down to one question. What do you think the purpose of film is? If you answer A. To entertain, you probably won't care for it. If the goal is B. to serve as a mirror, you'll appreciate it. The thing about mirrors is they're occasionally useful. That being said, I don't necessarily need the movie I'm paying ten dollars to see to let me know that I have mustard on my shirt. The reason Drinking Buddies succeeds is that it mirrors more important aspects of life than my clumsiness and resulting ruined white chinos. It shows the difficulty of adult relationships, and whether or not the essentially childish notion of friendship can survive in such an environment.
The movie centers on Luke (Jake Johnson) and Kate (Olivia Wilde), two employees of a small brewery. Johnson sports a convincing rugged look, and Wilde mostly succeeds as a working class girl. It's Wilde's character that is less interesting—it doesn't diminish her performance, but makes Johnson the more likely award candidate. The two are friends and are both in relationships. It's clear from the onset that there is a romantic chemistry between them, made all the more convincing by Swanberg's decision to play the movie scene by scene without a script. This choice also highlights the acting chops of the two leads, particularly Johnson. Any regular viewer of his sitcom, New Girl is more than willing to gush about how funny he is, but his ability to transition from goofy friend to jealous friend to loving boyfriend so convincingly all in the space of a short ninety minutes is admirable.
The difference between the two relationships is also clear from the early going. Kate is in ill matched relationship, while Luke's girlfriend seems to be perfect for him. The weekend trip the four take together is difficult to watch —the impending train wreck is never far from the audience's mind. Still, some of the film's most memorable moments sneak in between the awkward silences of the trip, and certainly the best visual—that of Kate and Luke asleep in the back seat on the drive home.
The film centers on a question posed in a very different type of movie in a very different age of film making, by the immortal Billy Crystal: can men and women be friends? It's difficult to say if the movie really answers the question. If there was a script, I would say no. There is no dialogue to justify a satisfying conclusion to the "central conflict" if you can even call it that. This has some critics of the film saying that it has a "non-ending" which I don't categorically disagree with, but that view discounts the nonvisual. The final scene of the movie—my personal favorite, shows Kate and Luke eating lunch. There aren't any words spoken, but they pass each other food. It's a simple moment of friendship, the swapping of food from bagged lunches; it goes back to elementary school cafeterias. In this case, it seems to be an act of mutual forgiveness.
If you're looking for escapism, this isn't the movie to go see. Maybe The Mortal Instruments is more your speed. As for me, pass the mustard. I don't like black light parties anyway.
8/10
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