In the sun-baked streets of South LA, where dreams simmer alongside anxiety, two women navigate the razor’s edge between aspiration and eviction their laughter a defiant chorus against the percussion of unpaid bills and mounting pressure.

Introduction

One of Them Days, Lawrence Lamont’s vibrant 2025 buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and musical artist SZA in her acting debut, transcends its comedic framework to deliver a surprisingly nuanced exploration of financial anxiety and its impact on mental wellbeing. Set against the backdrop of gentrifying South Los Angeles, the film transforms the universal dread of impending eviction into a canvas for examining the psychological toll of economic precarity. Through its protagonists’ chaotic day-long scramble to secure rent money, the narrative peels back layers of humor to reveal profound truths about resilience, interdependence, and the emotional landscape of financial insecurity.

The film raises essential questions about mental health in economically marginalized communities: How does constant financial stress shape identity and ambition? What role does friendship play as a psychological buffer against economic hardship? And perhaps most poignantly, how do young adults maintain hope and purpose when systems seem designed to undermine their stability? This analysis explores how the film addresses these questions through its seemingly simple premise of two friends having “one of them days.”

Basic Film Information

Title: One of Them Days
Release Date & Production Year: January 7, 2025
Director: Lawrence Lamont (known for his work on “Insecure” and his authentic portrayal of contemporary Black life)
Screenwriter: Syreeta Singleton (writer for “Insecure” and “Black Monday,” bringing her signature blend of humor and social commentary)
Main Cast:

• Keke Palmer as Dreux, an ambitious waitress with entrepreneurial dreams
• SZA as Alyssa, a free-spirited aspiring artist navigating self-doubt
• Katt Williams as Lucy, an eccentric neighbor with unexpected wisdom
• Vanessa Bell Calloway as Mama Ruth, a community elder offering guidance
• Amin Joseph as King Lolo, a local gangster with unexpected dimensions

Genre: Comedy with dramatic elements
Awards: While specific awards information is still developing given its recent release, the film has garnered critical acclaim for its performances and authentic storytelling
Runtime & Rating: 97 minutes, R (for language, drug use, and some sexual content)

Plot Summary

In the vibrant neighborhood of Baldwin Village in South Los Angeles, roommates Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) awaken to a crisis that will define the next 24 hours of their lives: Alyssa’s boyfriend Keshawn has gambled away their rent money, leaving them facing imminent eviction unless they can secure $1,500 by day’s end. This financial emergency becomes the narrative engine that drives the characters through escalating comedic misadventures.

The film explores mental health dimensions through each character’s distinct response to crisis. Dreux’s anxiety manifests as hyperactivity and control-seeking behavior, reflecting how financial stress intensifies her underlying insecurities about stability. Alyssa’s initial denial gives way to creative paralysis, illustrating how economic pressure can undermine artistic confidence and self-worth. Their different coping mechanisms Dreux’s frantic problem-solving versus Alyssa’s temporary retreat create tension that tests their friendship.

Key turning points in the narrative center on moments when financial desperation forces psychological vulnerability. A failed attempt to secure a payday loan exposes Dreux’s shame about her credit history. A disastrous yard sale reveals Alyssa’s reluctance to part with possessions that affirm her identity. Their ill-advised meeting with local gangster King Lolo places them in physical danger that momentarily overshadows financial concerns, shifting their perspective on what constitutes a genuine threat to wellbeing.

The film’s resolution through a hastily organized art pop-up event provides not just financial salvation but psychological catharsis. As community members gather to support their endeavor, both women experience a renewal of purpose and belonging that transcends monetary value. The ending suggests that while financial security remains tenuous, the psychological resources gained through connection and creative expression offer sustainable resilience.

Setting & Cinematic Techniques

The camera lingers on cramped apartment spaces where dreams and belongings compete for square footage tight frames gradually expanding as the characters move through their neighborhood, visual breathing room increasing precisely when they need psychological air most desperately.

Director Lawrence Lamont and cinematographer Ava Berkofsky employ distinct visual language to communicate psychological states through environment. Early scenes feature constricted compositions and interior locations that evoke the claustrophobia of financial stress. As the characters venture into the community seeking solutions, the visual palette expands wider shots, more dynamic camera movement, brighter lighting suggesting that connection offers psychological liberation.

The film’s setting in South Los Angeles becomes more than backdrop but active character, with gentrification visualized through jarring juxtapositions luxury developments looming over established neighborhood businesses, trendy coffee shops next to family-owned stores. These visual contrasts externalize the protagonists’ internal experience of displacement and belonging.

Most striking is Berkofsky’s use of color temperature to track emotional states throughout the day. Morning scenes feature harsh, anxiety-inducing fluorescent lighting in the apartment and at loan offices. The afternoon brings warm, golden-hour illumination during moments of community connection, while evening sequences at the art pop-up showcase vibrant, expressive color schemes reflecting creative fulfillment and hope.

The soundtrack further enhances psychological themes, with diegetic neighborhood sounds (traffic, conversations, music from passing cars) creating an authentic sonic environment that grounds the characters in community even during their most isolated moments.

Acting & Character Portrayal

Keke Palmer delivers a tour-de-force performance as Dreux, embodying the complex psychology of someone whose outward confidence masks profound financial anxiety. Palmer’s physical comedy communicates the somatic manifestations of stress rushed speech patterns, nervous energy, hypervigilance while allowing glimpses of vulnerability that reveal how economic precarity undermines self-assurance. Her portrayal avoids the common pitfall of reducing financial stress to simple frustration, instead showing how it permeates identity and relationships.

SZA’s acting debut as Alyssa proves surprisingly layered, effectively conveying how creative individuals particularly struggle with the cognitive dissonance between artistic fulfillment and economic survival. Her performance captures the specific anxiety of creative block under pressure, with subtle shifts in posture and expression revealing Alyssa’s journey from avoidance to artistic reclamation. The chemistry between Palmer and SZA creates a believable friendship that serves as both source of tension and ultimate psychological safety net.

Supporting performances add crucial dimensions to the film’s exploration of community mental health. Katt Williams brings unexpected depth to Lucy, a neighbor whose eccentric exterior masks hard-won wisdom about survival. Vanessa Bell Calloway as Mama Ruth embodies intergenerational resilience, while Amin Joseph’s King Lolo subverts gangster stereotypes to explore how economic environments shape coping mechanisms across a community.

Mental Health Representation: Strengths & Weaknesses

The genius of “One of Them Days” lies not in dramatic breakdowns but in capturing the mundane texture of financial anxiety how it inhabits casual conversations, shapes daily decisions, and lingers in quiet moments between friends who share both limited square footage and unlimited dreams.

The film’s greatest strength is its normalization of discussing financial stress as a legitimate mental health concern. Rather than treating economic anxiety as simply a practical problem, the narrative explicitly connects financial precarity to identity, self-worth, and emotional wellbeing. Dialogue between characters acknowledges how constant money worries become internalized as personal failure rather than systemic inequality a reality rarely addressed in mainstream comedy.

The screenplay skillfully depicts different manifestations of financial trauma. Dreux’s controlling tendencies reveal how childhood economic instability creates adult hypervigilance, while Alyssa’s avoidance behaviors stem from using art as escape from material concerns. These nuanced portrayals avoid pathologizing their responses while acknowledging how economic environments shape psychological development.

However, the film occasionally sacrifices depth for comedic momentum. Some sequences play financial desperation primarily for laughs without fully exploring its long-term psychological impact. The quick resolution through the art show, while emotionally satisfying, potentially underestimates the ongoing nature of economic anxiety and the mental health support needed to address it beyond momentary relief.

Additionally, while the film portrays community support as crucial to psychological resilience, it offers limited exploration of formal mental health resources. This absence reflects real access barriers in many communities but misses an opportunity to normalize seeking professional support alongside community connection.

Critical Reception & Awards

One of Them Days has received strong critical acclaim, with particular praise for its authentic portrayal of friendship under economic pressure. Reviews consistently highlight the film’s success in balancing laugh-out-loud comedy with thoughtful commentary on financial precarity in gentrifying neighborhoods.

Critics have specifically noted the film’s psychological authenticity, with several reviews praising how director Lawrence Lamont captures the minute-by-minute emotional rollercoaster of financial emergency without losing comedic momentum. The New York Times called it “a remarkably insightful exploration of economic anxiety disguised as a buddy comedy,” while the Los Angeles Times praised its “nuanced understanding of how financial stress shapes relationships and self-perception.”

The chemistry between Palmer and SZA has garnered particular attention, with reviewers noting how their relationship creates a believable emotional core that elevates the material beyond typical comedy scenarios. Several critics have drawn comparisons to classic Black comedies like “Friday,” noting that like its predecessors, One of Them Days uses humor to illuminate serious socioeconomic realities.

The film’s commercial success grossing $51.8 million against a $14 million budget suggests its portrayal of financial anxiety resonates with audiences experiencing similar pressures, potentially normalizing conversations about economic stress and mental wellbeing.

Cultural & Social Impact

One of Them Days contributes meaningfully to broader cultural conversations about housing insecurity, gentrification, and the “gig economy” that leaves many young adults financially vulnerable despite their talents and efforts. By centering these issues in a mainstream comedy, the film makes structural economic challenges visible to audiences who might otherwise remain disconnected from these realities.

The film’s South Los Angeles setting provides particular resonance during ongoing discussions about urban gentrification and displacement. By showing characters fighting to remain in their changing neighborhood, the narrative illustrates the psychological impact of community disruption alongside financial pressure the dual anxiety of potentially losing both home and cultural context.

Online discussions around the film have created spaces for viewers to share their own experiences of financial anxiety, potentially reducing stigma around discussing economic struggles. Social media responses frequently highlight how the film’s humor makes it easier to acknowledge the mental health dimensions of financial stress that might otherwise remain unspoken.

Mental health advocates have noted the film’s value in depicting economic factors as legitimate determinants of psychological wellbeing, moving beyond individualistic narratives that focus solely on personal resilience without acknowledging systemic pressures.

Personal Reflection & Final Thoughts

One of Them Days offers rare insight into how financial precarity shapes not just practical decisions but emotional landscapes and relational dynamics. The film’s greatest achievement lies in making visible the psychological labor required to maintain hope and purpose while navigating economic uncertainty work often performed invisibly and without recognition.

For those experiencing similar financial pressures, the film provides validation that economic anxiety represents a legitimate psychological burden rather than personal weakness. The characters’ journey suggests that while individual resilience matters, community connection offers crucial support that individual determination alone cannot provide.

What could have been enhanced is the film’s exploration of long-term solutions beyond immediate crisis response. While the cathartic success of the art pop-up creates a satisfying narrative resolution, a deeper examination of sustainable economic and psychological resources might have strengthened the film’s impact. The brief epilogue hints at positive changes but leaves questions about ongoing stability unresolved.

Conclusion

Lawrence Lamont’s One of Them Days succeeds as both entertaining comedy and thoughtful examination of financial anxiety’s psychological dimensions. Through Dreux and Alyssa’s day-long journey from crisis to community celebration, the film illuminates how economic precarity shapes mental wellbeing while suggesting possibilities for resilience through connection and creative expression.

The film’s significance extends beyond its immediate entertainment value to contribute meaningfully to representations of financial stress as a legitimate mental health concern. By embedding these themes within an accessible comedy format, One of Them Days invites viewers to recognize familiar experiences of economic anxiety while offering the reassuring message that such struggles need not be faced alone.

As audiences continue navigating their own economic uncertainties in a rapidly changing social landscape, the film’s portrayal of friendship as psychological sanctuary amid financial turbulence resonates with particular poignancy. In showing characters who find moments of joy and purpose even on “one of them days,” the narrative offers not naive optimism but a nuanced vision of resilience grounded in authentic connection and creative reclamation.

How did One of Them Days’ portrayal of financial anxiety resonate with your own experiences? Did you find yourself relating to Dreux’s immediate action-taking or Alyssa’s initial avoidance? Share your thoughts in the comments below.