FRIENDSHIP

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens at a group therapy session. Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson) and his wife Tami (Kate Mara) are in attendance. Tami discusses being cancer-free for the past six months and how she is trying to get her life back in order. She mentions certain issues, like not remembering when she last had an orgasm. Craig chimes in and says that things are going great and that he has no problems with orgasming.

Craig works as a marketing executive in Clovis, Colorado, while Tami runs a flower shop, with their son Stevie (Jack Dylan Grazer) under her employment. Craig and Stevie are not as close as he is with Tami (a bit uncomfortably close), and she has also started to reconnect with her ex, Devon (Josh Segarra), which makes Craig uneasy. Tami tells him that the mail carrier brought them the wrong package, so he goes to the home of his neighbor, Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd), to deliver it. Craig and Austin strike up a rapport before he goes back to his house.

Tami arranges for Craig and Austin to hang out, even though Craig wants to see “the new Marvel that’s totally nuts”. Craig goes to Austin’s house, where they have beers, and Austin tells Craig about his career as a local meterologist. Craig expresses his philosophy of “just ask” in regards to getting ahead in life, which Austin takes to heart regarding his own ambitions. He also shows Craig an old fossil and relays his own words of wisdom, which gives Craig a nosebleed. Austin then brings Craig to the sewers and leads him through tunnels that take them to city hall. They go to the rooftop and smoke a joint.

Craig and Austin begin a quick friendship. Craig takes Tami to see Austin perform with his band and is even convinced by Austin to bail on work so they can hang out. Austin tells Craig that he listened to his “just ask” advice and is now set to begin his new job as the weatherman for the morning news. The guys go pick mushrooms in the forest, and Austin spots a yellow car that he wants to own someday. Craig sees their friendship as a turning point in his life, leading to him having weird daydreams where he becomes a heroic figure in Austin’s life (and also in a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario that he envisions). At home, Craig also starts to pay more attention to Tami and Stevie.

Austin invites Craig over to his house to hang out with his friend group. Everything goes well at first, with the group doing a sing-along to “My Boo”. Things take a turn when the guys gather in Austin’s basement for a friendly round of boxing. Craig takes two shots to the face and seems done, but then he gets Austin with two sucker punches. The other guys become uncomfortable around Craig. He tries to pass it off as a harmless gag and then begins to chew on a bar of soap as self-punishment. The group decides to call it a night, and the other guys quickly hate Craig.

Craig tries to get back in touch with Austin, but he is getting iced out. He visits Austin at his job but causes him to stumble during his first major broadcast. When Craig brings a set of drums that he ordered to Austin’s house so they can jam together, Austin explicitly tells him that he no longer wishes to be friends with Craig. He gets defensive and says that Austin and his friends accepted him too fast.

Craig tries to fill the void in his life by trying to bond with Stevie. He takes him to look for mushrooms like with Austin, but the ones Craig picks makes him sick. He also tries to invite his coworkers over for a guys’ night at his place. They all go but are bored until they start talking about spoilers for “the new Marvel”, which upsets Craig. Although he tries to show off his drum “skills”, he aggressively ends up kicking the other guys out of his house. Tami also notices that Craig is starting to become detached from her again.

Another piece of mail for Austin arrives at Craig’s home, so he goes to deliver it. However, he knows that Austin and his wife Bianca (Meredith Garretson) might react poorly to his presence, so he breaks into the house. He goes up to Austin’s home office and takes out a gold-plated pistol that he kept hidden. When he hears noises, Craig makes his exit but he accidentally takes the gun and mail back with him.

In an effort to be spontaneous, Craig invites Tami to go exploring the sewers like he did with Austin. Before they make it to city hall, Craig loses sight of Tami and she seemingly disappears.

Back at home, the police go to Craig’s house since Austin knows that he broke into his house earlier. When the subject of Tami’s disappearance comes up, Craig leads the police to the sewers but lets it slip that he and Austin were trespassing to city hall. The two are jailed for the night, and while Austin is freaking out on Craig, he slips and accidentally reveals that he wears a toupee. He begs Craig to not let anybody know, as it could seriously affect his career. The two are soon bailed out.

Craig returns to work, where he is set to give a pitch to Mayor Seth Nichols (Alex Webb). When Nichols seems more responsive to a different pitch, Craig flies off the handle and rants towards the mayor, leading to him getting fired. Before he leaves the office, he gets a phone call to let him know that Tami has been found and returned home, alive but a bit distressed. Craig holds a “welcome home” party for Tami at their house, which is attended by many close friends, including Austin and Bianca. One guest berates Craig for supposedly abandoning his wife and not doing enough to get her back. Craig tries to give an inspiring toast, but he is one-upped by Devon, and later the guy that insulted him.

Tami gets a gig working alongside Austin at the news station. She then tells Craig that she is going to move into Devon’s pool house. At a low point, Craig visits Tony (Billy Bryk), an employee at a phone store that promised Craig something stronger than booze the last time he visited. Craig pays $100 to lick a toad and go on what Tony claims is a life-changing psychedelic trip. After leaving Craig alone for his trip, all Craig does is see himself going to order a sandwich at Subway, while an older Austin is working there. Craig finds himself annoyed and disappointed.

Craig tries to get his life back together, first by taking up a job as a parking officer. He starts to reconnect with Stevie and gets Tami a van for her flower business like she had been wanting. The family goes out for dinner and appears to be having a good time.

On the way home from dinner, Craig sees the yellow car in Austin’s driveway and sees that he is having another guys’ night. In a fit of jealousy, Craig drives Tami’s van over to the house, but wrecks the van after driving over a speed bump that he previously made a big fuss over. Craig crashes the guys’ night and makes everyone uncomfortable yet again. He escalates things by pulling out the gun that he swiped from Austin the other day. Austin tries to get the gun away from Craig, but in the struggle, his toupee falls off. Craig then orders everyone to get on the ground while Austin puts his hair back on to maintain the secret.

The police show up and arrest Craig. While in the back of the car, Craig imagines that the night went off without a hitch, and that he was back in the friend group. Austin turns to look at Craig and gives him a wink, which makes Craig smile widely.

Craig Waterman is a socially awkward man who has become distant from his wife Tami and their son Stevie. Craig begins a friendship with his neighbor, local meteorologist Austin Carmichael. While the two hit it off initially, Austin invites Craig for a guys' night at his house, which turns sour during a friendly boxing match, and Craig sucker punches Austin as a gag. The rest of Austin's friends are put off, and he eventually chooses to distance himself from Craig.

Desperate to get back in Austin's good graces, Craig tries to reconnect, but Austin doesn't want to. Craig tries to get Tami to do something spontaneous in the sewers, but she ends up disappearing for a day. Craig's life further spirals when he has a meltdown at work and gets fired.

Craig attempts to get his life back in order after taking a new job, and reconnecting with Tami and Stevie. However, when he sees that Austin and his friends are hanging out again, he makes one last ill-advised attempt to hang out with them. He pulls out a gun that he stole from Austin, but during the struggle for the gun, Austin's toupee falls off. In order to keep it a secret from Austin's other friends, Craig makes everyone stay on the ground until Austin puts his hair back on.

Craig gets arrested, but Austin winks at him while he is in the police car.