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Issa Rae: "One of Them Days"

 Issa Rae grew up on a diet of Bill Murray films and Eddie Murphy films; one of her favorite Murray outings is "Groundhog Day." Rae's fingerprints are all over the new movie "One of Them Days"--you can hear her actual voice in one scene--and the script's rather elaborate plotting and tidy third act help to evoke thoughts of 1980s Hollywood.


This wonderful movie concerns Dreux and Alyssa, two friends in Los Angeles. Dreux is generally responsible, but she can be passive. When her sketchy landlord demands rent money "by 3 pm," Dreux fails (actually fails for a few hours) to realize that the down-to-the-minute deadline will not carry weight in a court of law. Dreux has dreams of corporate success--and the dreams are just a little bit sad, a little confining. Dreux is drawn to a particular guy, but because he lacks standard "blue ribbon" signs of bourgeois success, she writes him off. She decides too quickly.

By contrast, Dreux's friend Alyssa does have a strong inner compass. Alyssa couldn't care less about the corporate world; she makes art and forgets to sell it. Alyssa knows precisely what she wants during off hours--she wants a big dick--and she will not "hear reason" when others evaluate her choice. Finally, Alyssa will engage in an actual fist fight when the mood strikes her, and she will not stop to observe that she is fighting in public, in front of a busy urban sidewalk.

You can imagine the formula. Alyssa and Dreux have a somewhat tenuous friendship, and it's only in their quest for a magical elixir (i.e., rent money) that they experience enough stress to "crack." They drop their facades. They become honest with each other. Because they do care about each other, they achieve a blistering level of candor. It's only after this fight that they can reteam and actually solve their financial problem.

This movie has outstanding set piece moments. Dreux tries to score cash via blood donation--but her nurse is an inexperienced former stripper who makes some startling errors. An early turning point involves a long, silent interlude in which the viewer is asked to stare at an erect penis (and to ponder just how destructive this penis might prove to be, both for Alyssa and for Dreux). Rock bottom occurs when Dreux and Alyssa find themselves without a car; they must approach a fast food drive-through on foot, to score their free apple pie slices. (They received special coupons in exchange for the blood donation.) They're able to talk their way into an order of hot honey wings--but the wings are then seized by a bandit (a man who waits by the quikserv window and commits theft several times per day).

There are two major releases this week. "Wolf Man," "One of Them Days." Issa Rae's movie is the one to see. I'm a fan.

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