Olivia Wilde Shines in Joe Swanberg’s Excellent ‘Drinking Buddies’

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Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Joe Swanberg’s “Drinking Buddies” has been billed as the Chicago writer/director’s breakthrough largely due to the star power on display in the cast list but the film works not merely because of the notable talents of its cast but a new maturity and wisdom displayed by its creator. Swanberg’s script is one of the most engaging of the season, filled with smart truths and never underlined in the ways so common to the romantic dramedy genre. Swanberg also displays a new level of ability with performers, drawing great turns from literally everyone in this cast, and finally giving the gorgeous Olivia Wilde the part she’s needed for years. She’s spectacular here. The film’s straddling of independent filmmaking and mainstream comedy may frustrate some looking for more clear-cut answers but Swanberg’s brilliance is in his willingness to navigate the uncertain waters that define so many of our relationships. We all have friends who never turned into more largely due to timing. Most of us have other-sex friends who know us better than our lovers. Few films have found the truth in these dynamics like “Drinking Buddies.”

Kate (Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson of “New Girl”) work at Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago (where a large portion of the film was shot). They joke around at work, drink and play pool afterwards, casually flirt, but feel like a friendship more than a love affair. Part of the reason that Kate & Luke feel firmly in the “friend zone” is that each of them has significant others. Luke seems to be in the healthier relationship of the two with the sweet Jill (Anna Kendrick) while Kate feels like she’s going through the motions a bit with Chris (Ron Livingston), a man who doesn’t seem to exist in the same social sphere as his girlfriend. Swanberg wisely refuses to present either Jill or Chris as villains. They are not the standard rom-com “enemies,” the blocks to getting our heroes together. They are as real, flawed, and, especially in the case of Jill, as engaging as Kate and Luke.

Drinking Buddies
Drinking Buddies
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

“Drinking Buddies” is a deceptively simple movie in its structure. Kate and Luke introduce each other to their significant others and the film seems like it could be a cross-relationship piece, especially after the two couples go on a trip to a cottage and Jill & Chris begin to flirt with each other and even seem to be a better fit. Swanberg has loftier goals than a simple girlfriend swap piece and “Drinking Buddies” really becomes a great work when those aspirations are revealed about halfway through as he changes the dynamic again.

I’ve long adored films about the subtle twists of timing and fate that lead us to our place in life. If that girl you knew in your 20s hadn’t been in a relationship at a time, might your life have been different? And yet Swanberg never overplays these themes, merely presenting a story that feels realistic enough to present them dramatically. Kate, Luke, Jill, and Chris feel like real people, drinking beer, laughing and talking, falling deeper into love or moving to the more shallow waters of like.

Drinking Buddies
Drinking Buddies
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

It helps Swanberg’s film greatly that his script was perfectly cast. Wilde has shown signs of greatness in the past, often registering as the best thing about bad films (she stole the otherwise-awful “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” earlier this year), but this role is easily the best of her career. She’s charming, beautiful, and wonderfully fallible, turning Kate into one of the most well-rounded and believable characters of the year. Johnson is very good, once again, and Kendrick can do more with a few scenes than most actresses can do with a whole script, but the film belongs to Wilde and she rocks it.

“Drinking Buddies” is not for everyone. It’s a film that lacks the resolutions many people look for in their romantic dramedies because Swanberg doesn’t give into the clichés that so often dominate the genre. The may be clichés but the lack of them might leave some viewers unsatisfied. Not this one. My favorite dramedies, like those of Alexander Payne and Tom McCarthy, have one thing in common – the characters feel like they exist before the opening scene and go on after the final credits. They are not mere devices. “Drinking Buddies” shares that trait. We share a few days and more than a few drinks with Kate, Luke, Chris, and Jill and they go on their way when we do the same. Drink it down.

“Drinking Buddies” stars Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, Jason Sudeikis, and Ti West. It was written and directed by Joe Swanberg. It is now available On Demand and opens in Chicago tomorrow, August 23, 2013.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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