Movie Review: Drinking Buddies

"Drinking Buddies" follows a male/female pair of best friends, Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson), who work together at a brewery and often drink together during their off-time. Seemingly the perfect pair, they both have significant others, Jill (Anna Kendrick) and Chris (Ron Livingston). The situation gets complicated when the two couples go on a weekend trip to Chris' cottage and then more awkward with the fall-out from the trip.

There's a certain awkwardness and raw feeling from the dialogue in this film. It feels very real and sometimes that's a bit uncomfortable. Apparently the "script" was largely an outline and the actors improved a good bit of the film. I think this was really an interesting directing choice by director/writer Joe Swanberg. Overall the film is a take on the age-old question can men and women really be friends without taking it to the romantic level. I think there's an interesting take on that question here in that the question for Kate and Luke isn't as clear-cut throughout the film as one thinks - are they really the best fit for each other.  I don't want to give anything away but I found the ending a satisfying answer that at first I didn't think I liked but the more I think about it the more it makes sense.  Good chemistry among the cast complements the story.

Feels a little awkward but give this a try - B+