The Weekend

By: Ashlee Dell’Arciprete

It can be difficult to get over an ex, but even more so if you’ve kept in touch or dare try to actually stay friends. The Weekend, which held its New York premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival after premiering at TIFF last September, explores this particular dynamic in an awkward weekend getaway that will have you genuinely laughing out loud. Starring Saturday Night Live alum Sasheer Zamata, The Weekend has the makings to be an outstanding and honest rom-com and a win for representation in feature films.

The film begins with Zadie (Sasheer Zamata) performing a stand-up set in a comedy club about still being “extremely single” after a break up a few years prior. The 29-year-old comedian then meets the same ex that her set was about, Bradford (Tone Bell), as they embark on a weekend getaway at her mother Karen’s (Kym Whitley) bed and breakfast. Did we mention that Bradford brought his girlfriend, Margo, (DeWanda Wise) who is very much the opposite of Zadie? From our initial encounter of the three together, it is hilarious how much Zadie makes her feelings about Margo noticeable from the moment Margo first tries to enter the car to leave with them and does not filter a single thing.

When they arrive to Zadie’s mother’s B&B, Zadie soon meets Aubrey (Y’lan Noel), an obviously attractive guest at the hotel who has strangely arrived by himself. The two hit it off, mostly so that Zadie can make Bradford jealous at first and it works. As the weekend progresses, the dynamic between Zadie, Bradford, Margo and Aubrey somehow becomes even more awkward as tensions and jealousy builds into a hilarious over-the-top weekend. The Weekend begins and ends at a comedy club, with much different circumstances than the film began, and proves that being friends with your exes never really works.

Sasheer Zamata could not have been more perfect for this role. As once underutilized on “SNL,” Zamata is able to shine as a complex and dynamic character who is confidently herself. It’s often times difficult to tell how similar Sasheer is to Zadie as a comedian portraying a comedian with superbly timed snarkiness. DeWanda Wise also stands out in this role as a very over-the-top character and the only non-comedian of the principal cast – and handles it well. Bell, Zamata and Whitley are all comedians with Noel also having a background in comedy from his role on “Insecure, and you can tell they definitely improved whenever possible. The cast is able to blend in authentic comedic moments with all of the awkwardness that comes with exes.

This is Stella Meghie’s third feature as director after her directorial debut at SXSW for Jean of the Joneses in 2016 and followed by Everything Everything based on the best-selling YA novel by Nicola Yoon in 2017. Meghie’s third feature, which she directed and wrote, The Weekend blends together comedy, romance and complexity of each character. Cinematographer Kris Belchevski also helps to make every scene feel unique despite being a low budget film consisting of only a few shooting locations, with one scene in particular a great one-take shot during a pivotal conflict in the film that was visually wonderful to watch. Zadie also wears the same white t-shirt for nearly the entire weekend with different clothing pieces over it and we’re still questioning why.

The Weekend is an all-around great comedy with fully developed characters, drama and wit that deserved more buzz. What made it better was that as the credits rolled and each name appeared on the screen that nearly every person involved on the major production of the film was a woman. However, funny enough, as Stella said when we spoke with her at the Tribeca premiere that she actually got the idea for the film and wrote it while at her mother’s who truly runs a bed and breakfast. The Canadian filmmaker broke the film down from each weekend day, morning and night, and provides a film equally timed out so you never lose interest.

The Weekend held its New York Premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and is currently seeking distribution.