The funniest film of the year

TORONTO, Canada – Tim Robinson's characters are socially inept misfits who don't realize they are incapable of living normal lives in society and who become insanely frustrated when their craziness is pointed out to them.

With his Netflix sketch series I think you should go with Tim Robinsonthe comedian has perfected a particular brand of pathetic yet hostile weirdness, playing office workers, TV crooks, and suburban husbands and fathers (among others) who are oblivious to (or have no interest in following) the principles that govern human interaction. They're the creep who says and does the wrong thing at the absolute worst possible moment, making everyone extremely insecure, and then making the situation worse by apologizing, following up, or freaking out in bizarre ways.

Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, friendship is Robinson's first attempt to expand his personality in a feature-length project, and it's as feverishly and hilariously wacky as you'd expect. Teaming him with Paul Rudd in a story about male need, companionship and obsession, Andrew DeYoung's film is full of the typical set-pieces, stunts and screaming that fans of the star's television work will immediately recognize as more of the same.

What really sets Robinson's first film appearance apart, however, is the realization that his oddballs aren't just harmless idiots – they're crazy psychopaths.

friendship begins with a close-up of Tami (Kate Mara) speaking to a support group about her successful battle with cancer. As DeYoung's camera pulls back, it is revealed that Craig (Robinson), her husband, is standing next to her, and given the comedian's usual penchant for making inappropriate remarks, the look of eager support on his face elicits an immediate, expectant chuckle. “It's not coming back!” he blurts out of his wife's illness. When Tammy admits that she is most looking forward to seeing her son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer) graduate from high school and finally have an orgasm again, Craig is quick to say, “I have an orgasm fine!”

At home, Tami tells Craig that a package was delivered to their house by mistake and that he should take it to the neighbor. He does so and meets Austin (Rudd), who has just moved in with his wife and whose cool demeanor and looks – a large mustache, a scruffy beard, floppy hair and a bandana around his neck – impress Craig.

A few nights later, Tami informs her husband that she has arranged a meeting between him and Austin. Although Craig is initially hesitant, he gives in and, as a reward for his efforts, learns that this stranger is the weatherman from Channel 3, a member of a punk rock band and a fascinating guy who waxes philosophical about a 400,000-year-old artifact. Sitting over a beer in Austin's retro '70s-style house, which features a giant fish tank and a guitar on the wall, Craig nearly faints.

Thus begins a relationship that, as is Robinson's wont, quickly spirals into the crazy. Austin takes Craig on an “adventure” through the city's sewers to break into City Hall, where Craig loses his phone and his shoe, which he bought at his favorite outfitter, Ocean View Dining (?!?).

Later, he's invited to hang out with Austin and his other friends, but things get worse when Craig runs right into a sliding glass door and delivers a sneaky punch to Austin in what is supposed to be a playful boxing match. This, of course, alienates Austin, which in turn angers and destabilizes Craig, whose behavior – aimed at rekindling their friendship and later finding new friends to call his own – gradually degenerates into desperate madness.

friendshipThe main plot of is a robust vehicle for inspired guy delirium. But, unsurprisingly, it's the random details and detours that make the film so hilarious. At home, Craig talks incessantly about wanting to see “a new Marvel” and can't stand spoilers. When buying a phone, he tells the teenage salesman that he looks older, just like those girls pretending to be 21. He's fixated on his favorite bar's “Seal Team 6” menu offering, where customers are expected to eat the same massive feast consumed by the soldiers who killed Osama Bin Laden. And in his desperate desire to copy Austin, Craig – who, according to Tami, doesn't even like music – starts cranking Slipknot up loud whenever possible, whether in the car or while making breakfast for his son.

Awkward silence and even more embarrassing statements and actions dominate friendshipwhose protagonist soon abandons his wife in the sewers and returns to the phone shop (because he keeps losing his device) to buy drugs. After seeing a book about ayahuasca in Austin's house – when he broke in and stole a gold-plated gun – Craig asks for psychedelic drugs and is rewarded with a lick from a toad that secretes hallucinogenic mucus.

Craig lies on the floor of this cramped room in the dark, preparing to have his mind blown, but the vision that presents itself is so unexpectedly disappointing that it turns out to be the most hilarious part of the film – especially given Craig's predictably angry reaction to it.

He embarrasses himself at work with a cup of coffee that's too full, at a meeting with the mayor, and at a party at his house where Tami acts uncomfortably chummy with her ex-boyfriend (Josh Segarra), a firefighter. Robinson's protagonist is a familiar creation taken to the extreme, reaching a pathetically deranged extreme.

So when DeYoung tries to gain some sympathy for him, the gesture is so unwarranted and inappropriate that it's thoroughly amusing. Robinson isn't interested in empathy, except in a surreal way; what he's interested in is exploding everyday social and professional incidents and dynamics with surprising bursts of madness. He's like an alien's approximation of a human – he understands enough of the rules to get by, but he doesn't quite master the finer points that might make him tolerable or less likable.

As a result, the film manages to give Craig a completely undeserved happy ending, which he then ruins by not giving up his fixation on acceptance. Together with the always ridiculous Rudd, Robinson confirms his status as the reigning master of discomfort. Together they make friendship the funniest movie of the year.