In 'Friendship,' Tim Robinson's every move will make you squirm

By Stephen Thompson,

Reanna Cruz, Bedatri D.Choudhury, Liz Metzger, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published May 19, 2025 at 9:29 AM EDT

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

In the cringe comedy Friendship, a deeply strange and intense guy forges a troubled friendship with his new neighbor, a TV weatherman, played by Paul Rudd. The film stars Tim Robinson, an SNL veteran who's best known for his work in TV shows like Netflix's I Think You Should Leave.

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Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

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Reanna Cruz

Reanna Cruz is a news assistant for NPR Music's Alt.Latino.

Bedatri D.Choudhury

Liz Metzger

Mike Katzif

Jessica Reedy

See stories by Jessica Reedy