The Wasteland Reviewer

BFFs (2025) Written Review

How far would you go to prank your friend? You have the types of people who just really love to prank people. It brings them joy and excitement. You also have others who do such things to “help” their friends. This seems like a bit of stretch, but you get certain folks who believe they need to do it to liven up other people’s lives. That is certainly the central conflict of the new crime, comedy BFFs. Director Constantine Paraskevopoulos portrays the impish Jerry who just wanted so badly to lighten up the life of writer Adam Rifkin’s Henry. Who ensues over the next hour, and twelve minutes is…something. 

Does Paraskevopoulos capture the right vibes for his crime comedy? This film truly looks like it was made for about $5. The production value is low and quite flimsy. Nothing looks real at all with sections of the film being shot over some of the most fake-looking backgrounds imaginable. The overall look at the film is drab and uninspired with an overly lit presentation that makes it look cheaper than it probably is. The film attempts to deliver some tension and mystery which unfortunately just falls flat. The humor is quite low brow and might get a few uncomfortable chuckles out of the audience throughout the whole runtime. A comedy that is not funny is certainly one that doesn’t stand a chance. 

Does the script help elevate this low budgeted comedic venture? When you strip BFFs down to its most basic essence, the film is just a bit of a gag and a reversed gag that takes over an hour to set up for. Sure, there are things that happen along the way, but the film relies too heavily on its final punch. When you invest the whole film into one long-term gag, it better delivers. But BFFs can only muster a few chuckles from silly names, but the rest of this gag is complete nonsense. But what is even more nonsensical is the “twist” of the film that tries to reverse the whole narrative. There is not enough clever writing and effective set up to make the payoff worthwhile. The whole framed narrative feels ridiculous as well. But the most frustrating thing is the whole film feels like a barrage of one-note characters and mean-spirited nonsense which means there is nothing to latch onto here. 

Is there any saving grace to this whole film? The few fleeting glimpses of hope in the whole experience stem from some of the performances. Paraskevopoulos and Rifkin (especially Rifkin) act to the heavens and good for the most over-the-top reactions they can possibly muster. Honestly, watching Rifkin go completely unhinged might be the best part of the whole film. It takes him a LONG time to get there but in the final 10 minutes or so of the film, Rifkin reaches a wild and aggressive madness that the film sorely needed throughout. Terrence Howard gives an authentic and engaging performance as Henry boss (but he is not in the film enough to make that much of a change impact). The rest of the cast is stuffed with some familiar faces like Taye Diggs and Nick Stahl who don’t necessarily feel like they are given enough to make their presence worthwhile. 

Is BFFs the type of bonkers comedy that can garner a following enough to claim some cult classic status? Not really at all. This is the type of film that will entertain those with the lowest brows of humor for sure. There are some playful and silly names which is one of the few gags that produce something. You can tell that the director/star and writer/ star combo had a lot of fun and were passionate but that is not enough to make a good movie. This film feels like nothing more than an illogical barrage of mean-spirited joking which does not carry that much weight in delivering a strong, laugh-filled comedic experience.