Drinking Buddies (2013) at the London Film Festival

Messy friendships and relationships make for great stories, and this is what makes Drinking Buddies a
treat to watch. 

Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson in Drinking Buddies
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Drinking Buddies follows a few weeks in the lives of Kate and Luke, who both work in a craft brewery and spend a lot of their time together working and drinking beer. They each have a significant other, Luke's long time girlfriend Jill is far more significant than Kate's boyfriend Chris, but there's something about their friendship that suggests it could be more. Then they find themselves alone for a weekend and things get even more complicated...

Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson in Drinking Buddies
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

I went to a screening of Drinking Buddies at the London Film Festival last weekend, lured by the prospect of Jake Johnson's bearded face on a big screen and the possibility of him turning up for a Q+A. Johnson (who you may recognise as Nick Miller from Fox's New Girl) wasn't there, but we did get a Q+A with Director Joe Swanberg, Director of Photography Ben Richardson and actor Anna Kendrick after the screening. I call that a win. 

"Whenever I'm not making movies I'm brewing or drinking beer." - Joe Swanberg

Drinking Buddies feels about as messy as the relationships it follows, in a good way, which is mostly because it didn't have a formal script and relied on the actors to improvise their dialogue. It feels more like a documentary than a feature film, which makes the comedy moments unexpected and subtle, and the more emotional beats of the story stand out and grab your attention.

Kate and Luke walk that blurry line between friends and lovers in a way that is sometimes excruciating to watch. Wilde and Johnson have terrific chemistry, and as Kate and Luke's relationship appears to be heading towards something more than friendship you really don't know how it's going to end. Nor do you really know which relationship you're rooting for.

Drinking Buddies will satisfy your craving for a film worth your time and attention. It's funny, full of great performances and delivers a refreshing take on the traditional romantic comedy. And if you like beer, there's plenty of it. 

Other things worth knowing about this film: 

• The brewery used as a location for filming didn't shut down for the production, they continued to make beer throughout the shoot. 
• Director Joe Swanberg spent time brewing beer in his basement with Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson as part of their "beer boot camp" prep for filming. 
• Anna Kendrick didn't have to act drunk during a scene because she really was drunk. The crew had given her real beer. 

Jake Johnson (with a magnificent beard) and Anna Kendrick in Drinking Buddies
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures