‘One of Them Days’ is the Detroit director’s first film

On January 18, 2025By Littum

At a time when Los Angeles is ravaged by fires and the rest of the national landscape is riddled with division, critics are hailing “One of Them Days” as a much-needed break for a little fun.

The LA comedy, which opens Friday, stars Keke Palmer and SZA as two young women with nine hours to find $1,500 to cover their rent before being evicted. The Associated Press calls it “a welcome warm breeze for a movie landscape that has largely frozen out comedy.” The Hollywood Reporter says that “many of the best scenes feature social analysis with thrilling humor,” while the New York Times describes it as a “delightful comedy” where “genuine emotion accompanies the humor.”

Lawrence Lamont, the former Detroiter making his feature directorial debut with “One of Them Days,” always had this vision for the project. Sitting inside downtown Detroit’s Shinola Hotel this week during a press tour, he says his favorite comedies are the ones with heart.

“When you can lean into something that’s heartfelt and you have those moments that are serious, I think it just enhances the comedy. And this is a story that’s pretty serious,” he says. “The economy is crazy; inflation is crazy. Everyone has had one of those days. The first of every month people are stressed. But somehow people have been able to laugh out of pain and laughter has become healing .I like to make sure the heart is there.”

This is a big weekend for the Motor City native, who got his start in music videos and moved to the West Coast to pursue his movie dreams. On Tuesday night, he brought the film home to the Royal Oak Emagine multiplex for a screening well attended by his family and friends.

During the q-and-a session afterward, Lamont credited his understanding of female characters to the strong women who raised him, pointing out his mother, Travice Hall, in the audience. And when asked what he would do if he needed $1,500 in a pinch, he said he would “call my grandma DJ,” Dorothy Jenkins, who was also there and raised her hand as the audience laughed and clapped appreciatively.

So how many people knew Lamont at the screening? “Probably like 95% of the audience,” he says with a smile. That warm sense of community is echoed in “One of Them Days,” which features a star-studded cast, jaw-droppingly funny moments of pure slapstick and a believable friendship between the characters portrayed by the multi-talented Palmer, an Emmy-winning TV and film star, and SZA, a Grammy -winning and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter.

Palmer plays Dreux, a struggling waitress aiming for a management job, while SZA is Alyssa, an artist with more talent than planning skills. When Alyssa’s boyfriend keeps their rent instead of handing them over to their merciless landlord, the roommates find themselves forced into a series of slapstick situations and dangerous mishaps as the clock threatens to run out.

In addition to Palmer and SZA, the cast includes comedian and actor Lil Rel Howery, Janelle James of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary, Vanessa Bell Calloway of films such as “Coming to America” and “Harriet” and in a small prominent role as a mysterious figure named Lucky, comedian and actor Katt Williams.

“One of Them Days” was shot in 20 days and is being called by some a throwback to classic 1990s comedies. It was produced by Issa Rae of “Insecure” fame and written by Syreeta Singleton, showrunner of Max’s “Rap Sh!t” (which was created by Rae). Lamont says he became attached to the project four years ago and never gave up believing it would be made. In fact, one of the things that has fueled his career is his belief that he is destined to be a filmmaker – a dream encouraged by those closest to him.

Lamont says his interest in entertainment goes all the way back to a church play he performed at age 5 or 6. “I think that was the first time I was like, ‘Wow, there’s something about this storytelling. People laugh. People react to things on stage,” he recalls.

Growing up, he educated himself in filmmaking by watching his aunt’s collection of movies on VHS tapes. “I wanted to lock myself in her room and I saw classics I didn’t know. So I watch ‘Taxi Driver’…’Clockwork Orange’… Spike Lee stuff, (like) ‘Crooklyn,’” he says.

While immersed in theater at Southfield High School, he began learning how to put together a production. “We weren’t just actors in the plays,” he says. “We did tech crew, we did wardrobe, all the things. I think that started to spark my mind about what I could do as a filmmaker.”

Around that time, Lamont says, he also had a number of friends who were musicians. “Gradually, musicians need music videos. I could sort of direct these videos, so I started writing treatments. My first time directing a video as a teenager, I was on set (and thought) this is what I’m going to do forever.”

Lamont began directing music videos for Big Sean, a friend and classmate at Southfield High. They ended up working together on several videos, including “IDFWU,” which has garnered 390 million views on YouTube and won BET Video of the Year, and “Single Again,” which was framed as a love story starring Detroit’s Ryan Destiny ( who currently has his own breakout moment in the movie “The Fire Inside”).

While making videos with Big Sean, J. Cole, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Nas and others, Lamont says he gravitated toward “very narrative, super cinematic” ideas that resembled short films. “Being able to be creative in music videos has definitely enhanced my skills as a filmmaker. … I’ve always wanted to do things that help shift the collective consciousness or make people feel moved in a positive way, ” he says.

The ultimate goal, however, was to make films and television, which Lamont prepared for by doing the actual work, not studying it in an academic setting. Referring to director Quentin Tarantino’s well-known quote about his path to success, he says he didn’t go to film school, he just went to movies.

Lamont moved to Los Angeles more than a decade ago to focus on things like taking meetings with studios. He wrote on Instagram that he took the step “with my laptop, a few hundred dollars and a dream.” He says the support he received in Detroit made the scary leap possible.

“Growing up, my mom and my family and my teachers never clipped my creative wings. Any idea I had, no one said, ‘You shouldn’t do that.’ … .Just believing in all my dreams made me feel like this isn’t such a crazy risk.”

Lamont, who has directed episodes of “Rap Sh!t,” describes his style on set as “super collaborative, honestly,” but with a strong vision for the content. “It’s about making these characters feel authentic and real,” he says Unlike comedies that have a bad undertone, his “One of Them Days” offers kindness at unexpected times.

Lamont says, “We shouldn’t bring people down. I want people to leave this movie inspired and hopeful. I just wanted to make it out of love, pure love and pure joy. That comes from when it’s organically fun, not to tear anyone else down.”

Lamont says he would love to direct a film in Detroit and considers the city the source of so much talent these days, both recognized and untapped. “Maybe I’m biased, but I really think it’s always been that way since Motown. I think Detroiters have their finger on the pulse in a way that other cities don’t. … Not to compare or make it to a competition, but it just seems like when Detroiters are at the front or involved in something, things just get elevated even more.”

Wrapping up an interview, Lamont notes that he is scheduled to speak the next day at a film course at the University of Southern California taught by legendary critic Leonard Maltin. Among Maltin’s past guests on the popular course are former students Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) and Jon M. Chu (“Wicked”) and director Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”).

There he will talk about “One of Them Days” and no doubt share stories about his hometown. As he says, “I always think about Detroit, forever.”

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at [email protected].

‘One of those days’

In theaters

Rated R; language, sexual material, drug use

1 hour, 37 minutes