DRINKING BUDDIES, THE NOT QUITE ROMANTIC COMEDY

Drinking Buddies is a film about two friends Luke (Jake Johnson) and Kate (Olivia Wilde) who work at a Chicago brewery. Luke is the fun loving every man and Kate is a simple girl who can hold her own with the guys. Minutes into the film, one can observe that the friend’s feelings are more than platonic. Alas, a few obstacles lie in the way of the two ever being together. Most importantly, the two are amidst long-term relationships.

Luke is talking marriage with his girlfriend of six years, Jill (Anna Kendrick). While Kate is playing it cool with her music producer boyfriend, Chris (Ron Livingston). The two couples try to navigate through their relatable relationships with the beer freely flowing and I mean freely, in every scene, someone is drinking! Pretty quickly things start to get messy when the two couples go on vacation together, where the sexual tension runs rampant.

This film explores that fine line between best friends and lovers and just how complicated relationships can get. When you have feelings for a friend, do you act on them? However, one should be warned. This is not your typical happily ever after romantic comedy.

Directed by Joe Swanberg (V/H/S, LOL), the film features mostly improvised dialogue. Due to the unpredictability of the story, there are several scenes in the film where the production leaves the outcome to the viewer’s imagination. Two characters will often disappear together and one is left speculating did they or didn’t they, far too often.

Taking a page from off beat romantic comedies like 500 Days of Summer and Crazy Stupid Love, this film doesn’t end in the typical fashion either. That said, it is an interesting concept and very entertaining with extremely likeable characters. Go grab a beer and see this with a friend if you want a break from the predictability and sappiness of a run of the mill romantic comedy. 3 out 5 Stars.

Drinking Buddies is available now via VOD and in theaters August 23, 2013. Watch the trailer here.