This piece contains spoilers for the gayest moments in One of Them Days.
Every weekend my father took my brother and I to Ronnie’s Cinema in St. Louis or to the closest McDonald’s to rent something from RedBox. (Remember those?) I was a little kid with a big imagination, and the only thing to shut up my never-ending Gemini monologue was a movie. From Friday to Good Burger, I watched every Black buddy comedy you can imagine. The majority of the films were before my time, but they resonated with me nevertheless. I had all but thought that the age of Black buddy comedies was thought to be a thing of the past. Then came One of Them Days.
The Syreeta Singleton-penned feature harkens back to the classic age of Black film I was raised on. KeKe Palmer and SZA take the lead and part of its refreshing twist is a subtle (or not-so-subtle) queering of the artform. Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) are best friends and roommates. (Life partners one might say.) Throughout the film, these two are struggling to make ends meet before getting kicked out of their tattered two-bedroom apartment. They have to navigate a series of hijinks and hare-brained schemes to recoup the rent money that Alyssa’s no-good boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua Neal) spent on his tee-shirt business. I don’t know about you, but a cis man wasting my time and money certainly had me rethinking my dating dynamics. While that did not lead Alyssa to Sapphic City, her and Dreux do allude to a relationship that’s more than strictly platonic — or, at least, one that could (should!) be.
It is refreshing to see a mainstream film starring two Black women who are comfortable enough in their sexualities to joke and poke at the possibility of them being more than just friends. Queerness has often been used as a below-the-belt punchline for a quick laugh, but One of Them Days deviates from cheap jokes and approaches the subject with more intention and sincerity. It adds to the dynamic that Palmer and SZA have stated their queerness at one time or another. While SZA continues to release songs primarily about men, the North remembers when she said she was a lesbian. The bisexual community claims her, and she can formally come out or not whenever she pleases. It’s her prerogative. All that said, let’s talk about the gayest moments in One of Them Days.
The loan bank marriage faux-pas
After losing their car and having their rent money stolen by Alyssa’s boyfriend, the two go to a loan bank. Individually their credit scores are too low to qualify, so they quickly claim couple status and attempt a joint credit check. The clerk (Keyla Monterroso Mejia) congratulates them on their union and compliments them as a couple. She then swiftly denies them again and laughs at their pitiful credit history. (Not gonna lie, it was triggering watching this scene.)
Outside the chicken joint
While Alyssa encourages Dreux to get her swerve on with Maniac (Patrick Cage II), that doesn’t stop her from seductively eating out of Dreux’s hands. Some might say she was being a little silly. Others would say she was being freaky. Watch for yourself (1:55) and tell me how you feel.
The bestie break-up
Toward the end of the film, Alyssa and Dreux get into a very heated argument leading to them both crashing out on the side of the road. A friendship isn’t real unless it can survive at least one major blow up. Just as the two walk away from each other, Alyssa screams, “Fuck you!” and without missing a beat, Dreux yells back, “You ain’t my type!” So let’s back up a bit, Dreux has a type? Dreux likes to bump purses from time-to-time?? What’s going on? Is there a deleted scene? Some bonus footage? Can we get a sequel where she explores her sexuality? A flashback scene to college where she went to a poetry night and met a stud in flannel? SOMETHING? Y’all can’t leave me like this.
I guess we’ll just have to wait for Syreeta Singleton and Laurence Lamont to team up again before we get any actual queerness from these characters. Maybe in the sequel Dreux will be taking a Maniac Jr. to daycare or maybe we’ll see her and Alyssa buying a duplex on the Eastside. Fingers crossed it’s the latter.
One of Them Days is now in theatres and available to rent.
