One of Them Days Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

One of Them Days Blu-ray Movie Review

"I'm so high, I'm in the sky. I'm so blessed, I'm not stressed."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 10, 2025

Load up Run Lola Run in your mind's local cineplex. German indie flick? Franke Potente? Flaming red hair? Dashing for cash in a vain effort to save her boyfriend as a clock tick tick ticks away the seconds? Ring a bell? (It should.) Now strip away the alternate universes and the pasty white heroine. Replace her with Keke Palmer and SZA scrambling to pay their rent at the last minute to avoid eviction, and there you've got it: One of Them Days, director Lawrence Lamont and screenwriter Syreeta Singleton's sleeper BFF comedy. With a low low budget of just $18 million, it breezed past the competition to land a successful debut, bringing in an impressive $50+ million. Not too shabby for a little known, under-marketed gem loaded with laugh-out-loud bits and enough satirical absurdity to make white people ask, while wiping away tears from laughing so hard, "wait... am I racist?"

Starving artist Alyssa (SZA) and her roommate, waitress Dreux Jones (Keke Palmer), live in a ghetto apartment with Alyssa's down-on-his-luck boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua Neal). But when the struggling women realize Keshawn has run off with their rent money, they panic. After all, rent -- all $1500 of it -- is due by six o'clock, and it's attached to an eviction notice with zero leniency. No money, no more apartment, so says one of the most ruthless landlords ever to grace an inner city comedy. Setting out across town to find Alyssa's bum of a boy-toy, they soon discover Keshawn has been cheating (surprise, surprise) with a woman named Bernice (Aziza Scott) and has spent all of their money on a wayward investment opportunity; for a T-shirt company of all things. What follows is a race from a ridiculous PayDay Loans location to a chaotic blood bank to the location of a pair of rare Air Jordans, all in an effort to raise fresh money prior to the deadline, the remaining time of which appears on screen every so often in big, blocky letters. Will the girls pull together $1500 by six? Will they find love? Success? Can it all fit in one flick? One of Them Days also stars Vanessa Bell Calloway, Katt Williams, Maude Apatow, Patrick Cage, Gabrielle Dennis, Janelle James, Amin Joseph, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Dewayne Perkins, Rizi Timane, Lil Rel Howery, DomiNque Perry, Dustin Ybarra and Ray Santiago.

"Laugh out loud" is a tricky, oft-times deceiving descriptor. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all that. Same goes for comedies. One person can be losing their ever-loving-shit in the theater, while everyone else sits in silence. So mileage with One of Them Days, naturally, will vary. But there sure is a lot of laughs to be had for those willing to let go and enjoy broad hilarity and even broader satire of urban culture and the challenges that routinely face minorities trying to get by. The film hovers at least three miles east of reality at all times, and reminds audiences of the fact every so often with world-weary caricatures of inner-city denizens, long-reaching gags centered around debt, loans and credit scores, and guffahs tied to everything from cash-loaded collectors to electrocutions that would kill any red-blooded human but serve only to nab one more laugh among many. There are some dry spells in the second act, and a few jokes that land flat (plus a few more that whiff harder than your loudest groans can underline). But these are quickly forgotten the moment One of Them Days regains its footing -- which it always does deftly and quickly -- and gets back to the good stuff.

If there's anything worth criticizing it's that the film is a lightweight, stopping short of hard-hitting comedy in favor of easy setups and punchlines, tangential sketches, and characters that exist only to have fun bolstering stereotypes. Your patience for said stereotypes will also vary, lifting or sinking the picture accordingly. Still, there's a breezy, zany pace to the antics that keep things moving and the laughs coming, which is saying something in a universe where comedies so often target a specific demographic or audience yet only end up pandering or, worse, committing the cardinal sin of lobbing softballs that earn eyerolls over gut-busters. One of Them Days, by contrast, queues up enough edgy humor to make you laugh -- hard -- and feel guilty for doing so, which for my buck is the best kind of comedy. Crack me up then suddenly leave me feeling bad for doing so? Yes please. I'll take some more. Add to that a cast that's clearly having a blast, a screenplay that moves a hundred miles a second, and a leftfield happy ending that (mostly) satisfies and you have an easily digestible comedy quickie worth its 90-minutes weight in gold.

One of Them Days Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bright, colorful and dripping with primary power, One of Them Days' 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer looks every bit as good as it should. Aside from some errant black and red crush, both of which are exceedingly minor, there isn't anything to complain about. Skintones are warm and lifelike, the palette is full of summery punch and beautifully contrasted flavor, shadows are deep and inky, and elements like the reds that accompany the blood bank scene are gorgeous (and that much more hilarious as a result). Detail is excellent too. Edge definition is crisp and clean, fine textures pop, and there isn't any noise, banding or blocking present that might muck up the clarity. Moreover, the image is decidedly digital but has enough filmic wherewithal to hold its own, sidestepping grain but leaving plenty of room Ava Berkofsky's cinematography to establish its groove.

One of Them Days Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track sounds great, with little in the way of missteps or issues. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and nicely prioritized at all times, even when chaos ensues or electricity crackles, and music, while a blaring, beat-stomping part of the film, never grows overwhelming or unruly. Chanda Dancy has a good handle on all the music too, providing a series of songs and splurges that amp up the movie's personality without drifting into parody territory. Likewise, LFE output is bold and weighty, rear speaker activity is immersive, and the soundfield is suitably engaging. There are moments that are largely conversational, and as a result overly front heavy, but that's nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to a chatty comedy. All told, One of Them Days' audio doesn't disappoint.

One of Them Days Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• One of Them Gag Reels (HD, 3 minutes) - Funnier than most but still just one of them gag reels. I do wish outtakes were more than montages set to music -- let me in on the shooting process and the behind-the-scenes fun with more substance -- but this one at least has solid laughs.

• Dream Team (HD, 3 minutes) - The filmmakers assemble, offering a much-too-short look at the filmmaking process, the drive behind the story and characters, and a brief glimpse into the chemistry behind the camera.

• Block Party: The Cast (HD, 4 minutes) - Meet the cast, from SZA and Keke Palmer to some of the lesser character actors turning up the silliness to earn the film extra laughs.

• What's In My Bag (HD, 1 minute) - A Lucky-hosted quickie, and considering he's such a scene-stealing character, that's saying something worth listening to in a shorter-than-short short worth watching.

• Sony Previews (HD)

One of Them Days Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of Them Days is better than expected, with plenty of laughs, absurdist comedy and memorable characters to boot. It's not the next great Black comedy -- it's too simple and lightweight for that -- but it does do a hell of a job cracking up its intended audience, who, if my theatrical experience was any indication, absolutely loved every minute. Sony's Blu-ray release is a solid one too, with an excellent video presentation and a strong lossless audio offering. Its supplemental package is a barely there disappointment. The disc may as well of been a barebones movie-only outing. But there are a handful of extra laughs for super fans and others looking for every last bit of comedy gold to squeeze out of the release. One of Them Days probably won't be stuck in your brain for long, but it is a good time. Enjoy it while ya got it.