‘Roommates Review: Terrific Leads Shine in Uneven College Comedy’
Chandler Levack’s newest film, Roommates, arrives on Netflix as a messy, often affecting portrait of young friendship. The movie pairs two striking lead performances with a script that flits between tenderness and broad comedy.
Performances That Anchor the Film
Sadie Sandler and Chloe East deliver the film’s most compelling elements. Their portrayals make the best stretches feel earned and complicated.
Natasha Lyonne and Nick Kroll play Devon’s unconventional parents. Aidan Langford is her shy younger brother, Alex. Billy Bryk appears as the flirtatious teaching assistant Michael.
Plot and Character Dynamics
The story follows Devon, an earnest, high-achieving college freshman. She meets Celeste, an impulsive, charismatic new friend, and they become roommates.
Their early weeks are wild and intoxicating. Over time, Celeste’s unreliability and repeated borrowing strain the bond.
Tonal Shifts and Thematic Ambitions
The film aims to examine female friendship amid messy, real-world pressures. It sometimes finds surprising emotional insight.
At other moments, the narrative simplifies the pair into hero and villain. That flattening undermines some of the film’s more ambiguous truths.
Direction and Writing
This is Levack’s fourth feature and her first from another writer’s script. Jimmy Fowlie and Ceara Jane O’Sullivan wrote the screenplay.
Levack follows a recent Toronto-premiered comedy, Mile End Kicks, which opens in U.S. theaters around the same time. Roommates feels less autoral than her earlier work.
Production and Style
The movie bears the Happy Madison imprint associated with Adam Sandler. That production presence is visible in tone and casting choices.
Netflix’s bright, evenly lit visual approach gives the film a glossy look. The soundtrack includes Charli XCX and Lorde’s “Girl, So Confusing.”
Structure and Framing
A framing device interrupts the main story. Sarah Sherman plays a college dean who recounts the narrative to two fighting students. Those roles go to Storm Reid and Ivy Wolk in the frame.
Strengths and Shortcomings
The picture will likely spark youth conversation thanks to its streaming reach. Its terrifically acted leads lift many scenes.
Yet the movie is an uneven college comedy. Tonal whiplash and cartoonish escalations hinder its deeper observations.
Verdict
Roommates contains vivid performances and honest moments about friendship. It also struggles with inconsistent plotting and moral clarity.
For viewers drawn to character work, the film’s terrific leads make it worth a look. For those seeking a cohesive tone, the film feels erratic.
