Keke Palmer is an absolute joy to witness in her new ‘buddy comedy’ One of Them Days. The brilliant Issa Rae's new film (it's the inaugural film from her production company), in which she's teamed up with her former Insecure writer Syreeta Singleton is not only been described as a love letter to Black women, but also focuses on the power of female friendship.
The film is a madcap comedy centred around best friends and roommates Druex (Palmer) and Alyssa - played by musician SZA in her acting debut - who are seriously having one of them days. After discovering that Alyssa's dedbeat boyfriend has blown all their rent money, the pair finds themselves chasing around south Los Angeles going from one extreme to another in a ridiculous race against the clock - and eviction - to try and make their rent back, get Druex to a job interview all the while trying to maintain their friendship. It's silly, verging on cartoonish at times, but fun and funny and Keke has perfect comedic timing throughout. SZA also puts in a great performance and the pair have undeniable chemistry . Also starring Katt Williams, Maude Apatow, Lil Rel Howery, and Janelle James, it's a comedic moment of light relief that we could all do with right now. In the latest GLAMOUR Unfiltered, we caught up with Keke to discuss the film, female friendship and looking fit in Jamie Lee Curtis' vintage Chanel.
We're here for this duo.
A lot of headlines have been saying One of Them Days is the movie we all need right now. Why do you think that is?
Oh man. Well, first of all, that's awesome to hear. And I think that in general, comedy and comedy that is based in the situations that people are really experiencing right now is a real good way as an artist, I think, to show that, I don't want to say our version of activism, but in a small way, the version of saying, hey, this is what's happening in the world. And we see it as artists, we see what's going on, and we're going to document that obviously in our own particular voices. And I think for me, the best way that I feel to do that is through comedy, because I think we are already in disarray and drama. It's already quite stressful and I feel like leaning more into comedy, but still telling the truth of these stories, of our stories, of what's happening in the world, finding that balance is really important.
One of my favourite shows, even though it's so crazy and intense, is The Boys and I love this show because it really finds a way to get around to talking about or bringing to your attention things that are happening that we need to pay attention to. And you get to deal with how you view it, it's not telling us how to feel, but it's finding a way to bring us to a place to look at it and have conversations around it. And I do think that that's what we need, whether it is One of Them Days or something else, I do think humor is a great sense of medicine and a great way to bring people together.
What was the best part of working with SZA?
I mean, just hanging out with her all day. She's such a fun time. She's a very spontaneous spirit. Also, her emotions are right at the forefront of who she is, so it's just never a slow beat. She's always saying how she feels, what she thinks, what she like, what she don't like, and that level of just openness and awareness is very easy to respond to. For someone like me. I immediately know just what to do because she's being so real.
Female friendship is at the heart of the film. What do you think the overall message is around friendship?
That friendship is what gets you through. That life is always going to throw hard stuff at you. You know what I'm saying? And learning how to, yes, stand alone, but also stand beside people and get through tough times with the community is to me the way and the only way to do it in this life.
What did you learn about yourself from playing Dreux?
I learned that I was so similar to her in the same sense of working through systemic issues to get to where I am today and continuing to, in many ways, climb my own version of a corporate ladder within the entertainment industry to get to the point of being able to be a producer, to be a director, to be someone that's not totally defined by their ability to perform.
Very similar to Drew trying to make her way up from just being a server in Norm's [diner] to being a manager and maybe even working at the corporate level, like the character Shayla, who she was interviewing with in the movie. I feel the same way, and I think a lot of people don't see the entertainment industry that way, but it's very much a corporate industry, just like every other one.
And she showed a lot of resilience. Is that something that you can relate to?
Absolutely. Because it doesn't always go your way, and you have to keep trying and you have to find other ways to get in. It doesn't always start an end with the interview. And I love that, not to give it away, but that moment that she has with Katt Williams in the end, when she's doing something for her community, he says, "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing." Because sometimes going out trying to get people to get it is more difficult than just getting the people to get it where you are and building from there.
Where do you get your confidence from? There's been a lot on social media about how “Keke Palmer seems to be immune from social anxiety.” Why do you think this is?
I've been seeing that! I think it's so funny because honestly, I do have social anxiety. My social anxiety, I learned over the years, my defence mechanism, was to just be very flamboyant and performative, so to speak. And it's worked in terms of my career because I am a performer, but that is my version of survival. It's just like, well, let's just fill the space with noise! You know what I mean? That's my version of it. So we all get anxious and get weird and awkward, but I think that I learned to lean in because that's the only thing that I know to do. In my version of being a human that's how I survive the situation is lean in and make fun of myself and try to have fun with it, and then it's over…I just feel like the only way to deal with it is what could you do? Am I going to just blow up and implode at that moment? So I just have to figure out a way to find my way through so I try to make jokes and talk about the ridiculousness of the situations that we're in and make fun and try to laugh and make things easier for myself and the people that are experiencing it with me.
It's not just her hair that's red anymore.
You recently wore Jamie Lee Curtis' vintage Chanel dress to the SAG Awards and looked absolutely incredible. Can you tell us how that came about?
I had no idea that she had worn it!... but what a treat that she had worn it. It was just a beautiful dress that Molly Dickinson, the stylist that I worked with on that piece, we immediately loved it, we were obsessed with it. And next thing you know, when they were doing the write-ups on it, somebody pulled that Jamie had worn it. And Jamie has been someone that's been very encouraging to me in my life. I have an actual personal relationship with her since we did Scream Queens together. So for me, it was even that much more better that she had actually worn it as well, because that's my girl.
And she was there on the night, right?
She was, and I didn't even get a chance to see her, which was insane. But I had just saw her, we had done a retreat or something a few months back, so we had reconnected then and seen her. And when I had my son, she sent him so many books. And anytime that we see one another, it's literally we're back on that Scream Queen set. I mean, she was like a aunt to me when I was working on that. Very much just embracing me, seeing me, supporting me, encouraging me. A great person. I think I was 21, 22, so it's also the growing pains of being a young woman, with my career, finding my place in the show on the cast and all of that stuff was very much so just like a smart business woman and just amazing. I can't wait till we get a chance to work together again.
One of Them Days is in cinemas nationwide on 7 March
