When best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa discover that Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a comical race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact. A film by Lawrence Lamont, starring Keke Palmer, SZA, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Lil Rel Howery, Maude Apatow, Patrick Cage, Gabrielle Dennis, Janelle James, Amin Joseph, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Joshua David Neal, Dewayne Perkins, Aziza Scott, and Katt Williams.

Aspiring artist Alyssa (SZA) picks up her best friend Dreux Jones (Keke Palmer) after her shift at the local 24-hour diner, where Dreux works as a waitress and is the reigning employee of the month. During the drive back to their apartment, Alyssa helps Dreux practice for her corporate franchise manager interview scheduled for 4 p.m. today. Despite Dreux’s lack of confidence about not having a college degree, Alyssa reassures her that she’d be perfect for the role, insisting she can handle anything a manager would need to do. Suddenly, something pops into Dreux’s mind and she asks about their rent payment. Alyssa confirms their landlord Uche received the money and there’s nothing to worry about.

Dreux spots Fabian (Ray Santiago) sitting on the curb outside their apartment complex, surrounded by his belongings. She learns that their landlord Uche evicted him for missing rent. Dreux feels for Fabian, especially knowing he recently lost his grandmother. The situation makes her realize that Uche lacks any sense of compassion or understanding for tenants going through difficult times.

Dreux stops by Mama Ruth’s apartment, which doubles as a small grocery store, to pick up some orange juice. While there, Mama Ruth (Vanessa Bell Calloway) mentions hearing rumors about a white neighbor moving into their building. Dreux dismisses this, pointing out that she hasn’t seen white people in The Jungles in ages. Her conversation is suddenly interrupted when her childhood friend Maniac (Patrick Cage) walks in, causing Dreux to become visibly flustered, revealing her long-standing crush on him. Mama Ruth picks up on the obvious tension between them and, once Maniac leaves, asks Dreux what just happened. Dreux quickly denies any interest, claiming she has no time for guys from the streets and reminding Mama Ruth that Maniac has been nothing but trouble since they were kids.

At their apartment, Dreux gets into an argument with Alyssa about her boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) who’s been crashing with them for six months without contributing to rent. Dreux can’t understand how Keshawn shows no respect for anyone and still manages to buy expensive sneakers despite not having a steady job or any real income. Alyssa tries to calm Dreux down, urging her to take a break, and assures her that she’ll talk to Keshawn about moving out.

Moments later, Dreux is jolted awake by loud, persistent banging on the front door. When she opens it, she finds Uche demanding the rent. He insists that Alyssa never gave him the money, even though she had told Dreux she did. Uche warns Dreux that if he doesn’t get the rent by 6 p.m. today, she and Alyssa will end up on the curb alongside Fabian, whom he evicted earlier that morning.

Dreux confronts Alyssa about the rent money, and after some pushing, Alyssa finally admits she never gave it directly to Uche. Instead, she handed the cash to Keshawn, trusting him to pass it along — which he clearly never did. When they realize Keshawn has stolen their $1,500 rent money, they discover he’s already disappeared. Shocked and panicking, Dreux and Alyssa must team up to track down Keshawn and recover the cash before 6 p.m., or they’ll face eviction from their apartment.

With help from Jameel, their sarcastic but well-connected local hairdresser, they manage to crack Keshawn’s password-locked phone and discover messages between him and Berniece the Bully. Suspecting Keshawn is hiding out at Berniece’s place, they hatch a plan.

Dreux visits Berniece and keeps her distracted while Alyssa sneaks into the bedroom through the back window. When Alyssa confronts Keshawn about the stolen money, he reveals he’s already blown it all, claiming he “invested” it in his new T-shirt line. Not only do they leave empty-handed, but they’ve now made an enemy of Berniece, who furiously hunts them down after they broke into her apartment and accidentally humiliated her in front of everyone in the neighborhood.

Directed by American filmmaker Lawrence Lamont in his directorial debut, with a screenplay by Syreeta Singleton, “ONE of THEM DAYS” is a tragicomedy following two friends desperately trying to scrape together rent money to avoid eviction. Their increasingly frantic day spirals into a series of unfortunate events that eventually leads them into a life-threatening situation.

Keke Palmer and SZA deliver impressive performances. Palmer plays Dreux, a tightly wound, career-driven young woman with big plans for her life but a lingering lack of self-confidence. SZA plays Alyssa, a free-spirited aspiring painter who lives in the moment, often overlooking the consequences of her impulsive choices. Togther, they form a hilariously mismatched duo, delivering plenty of laughs and heart throughout the film.

One of my favorite scenes is when Dreux and Alyssa visit Payday Whenever, hoping to borrow some cash to cover the rent. They meet a loan consultant, Kathy (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), who can’t stop herself from bursting into laughter after seeing Dreux’s shockingly low credit score. Monterroso Mejia’s performance feels completely genuine. Her laughter is so infectious that it’s impossible not to crack up along with her. Honestly, this scene could go on for ten minutes, and I’d still be completely entertained.

ONE of THEM DAYS was theatrically released in the United States on 17 Januarary 2025, by Sony Pictures.

One Of Them Days Is The Buddy Comedy Keke Palmer Knew We Needed
“It means what I feel like I’ve always known, which is that everybody likes original and authentic stories. I know we live in a world where there’s so much misogyny, racism, et cetera. But the reality is nobody wants to see the same thing all the time. We all want to see something different and outside of our cultures especially.” At just 31, Keke Palmer an industry veteran, having starred in her first film (The Barbershop 2: Back in Business) when she was only 11. Since then, she’s been accumulating jobs like Thanos collects infinity stones — doing everything from hosting a talk show, to voice acting work, and even performing in the Broadway version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

SZA says she wants to continue acting after One of Them Days — under this one condition
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter makes her movie debut in One of Them Days, having previously appeared on the small screen in a 2020 episode of Insecure. She’s now open to more movie roles, but under one condition: “As long as Keke can coach me, then I’ll consider it.” But, according to Palmer, her costar needs no coaching. At their chemistry read, she was blown away by what the artist brought to the table.

Keke Palmer’s Greatest Role Is Herself
It’s an evolution that has taken place over the course of many years: She now has her own podcast, plus a multimedia network called KeyTV, and has forged an enviable acting career as an adult, working with such luminaries as Jordan Peele in Nope and Lorene Scafaria in Hustlers. ONE of THEM DAYS was in development for nearly five years, and it was a true labor of love for Palmer, who was also an executive producer: The script went through four different iterations before the final version, and Palmer grappled with the studio to maintain focus on the central theme of maintaining a community amid rapid economic change.