Sydney Wanguhu

 Earlier this month director Lawrence Lamont and Producer Issa Rae shook the box office with “One of Them Days”. A 90’s- esque feel-good movie, with no signs of Black trauma! 

The film stars veteran actress Keke Palmer as Dreaux, and singer-songwriter SZA, making her screen debut, as Alyssa. The dynamic between the leading roles was the epitome of friendship-turned-sisterhood. However, for this feature to be the acting debut of the Kill Bill singer was impressive—she played the role so well that I gradually started to loathe her character.

The story follows the best friends/roommates hustling to avoid eviction after Alyssa’s boyfriend (their unemployed third roomie) runs off with their rent money.  

I’m upset because Alyssa is a type b friend gone too far. She’s an easygoing beautifully free-spirited artist who makes decisions based on energy and vibes. In theory, this creates balance within her relationship with Dreaux who’s more structured and vocal about her goals in life. But in practice, Alyssa’s carefree attitude constantly puts them in future jeopardizing and life-threatening scenarios. 

Knowing the girls are deadbeat broke, barely affording to live in the Jungles of South Central Los Angeles,  Alyssa hands their rent money over to her unemployed boyfriend instead of paying the landlord directly. When Dreaux finds out, you can tell her stomach drops…and so does mine. As someone living in South Central, let me tell you— rent isn’t cheap! People get roommates to avoid expensive living, especially in this economy, when that’s the only choice for some if not most, 30-something-year-olds. As Dreaux stresses over being $1,500 in debt, Alyssa starts painting as if nothing happened. As a roommate, didn’t express enough concern for fumbling so terribly on the first of the month. 

Thankfully I’ve never experienced a shitty roommate, but I’ve heard horror stories— and this is someone’s reality. I could only cringe for Dreaux. When someone fails to pull their weight in a shared responsibility, it hurts both parties. Witnessing it within a friendship didn’t sit right with me. I just hated that Alyssa wasn’t understanding the potential consequences of her actions. 

Even after finding a way to make their money back, Alyssa loses it again forcing Dreaux to leave a life-changing job interview to deal with more bummy boyfriend drama. I felt exhausted watching them navigate their highs and lows, knowing that most of their obstacles were caused by Alyssa. It was almost as if this behavior was expected from her– to the point where Dreaux had to ask if she was acting like this on purpose. For a moment, I was asking myself the same thing.  

Alyssa’s character lacked accountability and self-awareness, and her delusion was frustrating—yet, in the most SZA way possible. It was just foreign to see it play out on screen rather than simply hear about it in her music. The Saint Louis native’s entire discography feels like a diary dedicated to her lore of delusion, and you can bet I love every song, album, and unreleased track where she sings about it. That might make me a hypocrite—or maybe I’m just a type B friend, too

I think it’s fair to say that she played that role well enough to irk me. It is truly amazing to see a performer transition through another medium of art knowing that this is her first acting role of many.