When you Google “Black women buddy comedies,” the search engine’s What to Watch section only produces a handful of results. There’s 1997’s “B.A.P.S.,” 2017’s “Girls Trip” (which stars an ensemble of four) and, surprisingly, 1995’s “Waiting to Exhale” (a quartet-led movie that should technically be considered a romantic drama). Beyond that, there are virtually no other examples to stack against the dozens of male buddy comedies or even the female buddy comedies starring white women released in the 21st century alone.
From “Baby Mama” and “Bridesmaids” to “The Heat” and “Booksmart,” the list of movies with funny women duos and other variations is lengthier than that for Black women particularly.
A new buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA is looking to change that, though.
“One Of Them Days” — written by “Rap Sh!t” showrunner Syreeta Singleton and directed by Lawrence Lamont — is the first buddy comedy led by Black women released in nearly eight years (and the first starring a duo in almost three decades). It reunites Palmer and SZA after their lauded 2022 “Saturday Night Live” appearance, and features a host of familiar faces and comedians, including Katt Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Maude Apatow, Janelle James, Vanessa Bell Calloway and Keyla Monterroso Mejia.
