One of Them Days: An Ode to the Black Women Friendship

One day, I opened Instagram to a post stating that a new movie starring SZA and Keke Palmer called One of Them Days had received a 100% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. I immediately told all of my friends that we NEEDED to see it in theaters. Eventually, I got two of them to accompany me to Showcase Cinemas in Providence Place, only to find out that the rest of the showings for that night had been cancelled. We knew that we had to rally and try again the week later because being big SZA fans we needed to see her acting debut. For those curious, we speculated that she would essentially be playing herself, and being Black women, we also love movies that portray Black relationships. Our first trip to the mall being essentially a failure that we had to laugh off reminds me of other times that we’ve had to deal with the unexpected and un-ideal together, much like Alyssa (SZA) and Dreux (Palmer) in One of Them Days. The well-rounded friendship portrayed between Alyssa and Dreux is in many ways an ode to the uplifting power of Black friendships that I and young Black women like me are a part of. We ensure that we empower each other and do whatever it takes to get through challenging moments, which often involves throwing in some Black humor to lighten up a situation.

It’s been a while since there was a studio comedy as unapologetically Black as One of Them Days, which is structured similarly to the 1995 day-in-the-life comedy classic Friday. Both films have two Black leads as the stars and have a predominantly Black cast. However, this movie is truly one-of-a-kind in its comedic day-in-the-life portrayal of the tight-knit friendship between two unambiguously Black female leads. The friendship between Dreux and Alyssa is strong enough to survive run-ins with menacing gangsters and fights with a boyfriend’s other girl all while trying to make rent. Alyssa and Dreux are quite literally ride-or-dies, as they are willing to do anything for each other, including sneaking into said other girl’s apartment to try to find their stolen rent money. Black women in their twenties like me and the friends who went with me to the film can definitely see ourselves in Alyssa and Dreux, from their clothing to their humor and the way that they talk. In fact, a large part of what had us bursting out laughing two minutes in was the Black-woman coded humor and experiences. For example, Dreux doesn’t have time to take out the rest of her braids, rendering her hair half done for the entirety of the film, and this exact situation would happen to me mere days after our viewing. While the second-hand embarrassment inducing moments and surprisingly high stakes had us stressing out a bit, it was an overall enjoyable watch. 

As a Black woman, it can feel like the world is against you at times. Alyssa and Dreux definitely experience this feeling while having to put up with all they do during the singular day in which the film takes place. Therefore, the type of empowering friendship that Alyssa and Dreux have is essential. They hype each other up while holding each other accountable. For example, Dreux doesn’t hesitate to address the bad decisions made by Alyssa that caused the mess that was their day in the first place. But despite her frustrations, it is clear that Dreux only wants the best for Alyssa. That’s the beauty of being a young Black woman: you might have to go through out-of-pocket experiences, but like One of Them Days shows, your Black women friends will always be there to get you through life's craziest, most challenging, and unexpected moments.