The Friend (2025) - Film Review

It felt like only yesterday when I saw Naomi Watts in a film about her character learning to accept the perks of raising a pet, as seen in "Penguin Bloom" a few years back. Then again, it also didn't feel that long ago since she teamed up with Bill Murray in a semi-comedy like "St. Vincent". With the latest animal-centered dramedy "The Friend", we have the next iteration in aforementioned categories. The advertisers for this film want it made clear from the get-go that you're not getting sucked into another "Old Yeller" or "Marley & Me" experience.

Yes, that was written correctly. Someone had the courtesy of letting those sensitive to animal deaths know that they're not going to run into that trouble here. Coming from someone who looks after folks who are sensitive to that trauma, I appreciate them spoiling that much for the viewers' sake. I may be a cat owner, but I look after proud dog owners, too. You're welcome. And that promise is kept, save for a brief scare a time or two. As for the rest of the film, while it treads plenty of familiar ground, the end result is actually not bad.

Naomi Watts plays Iris, a struggling writer whose mentor Walter (Murray) has passed away and bestowed her his pet dog Apollo in his will. Unfortunately, the building Iris lives in forbids pets on the premises. Not wanting Apollo left in the kennels, Iris goes ahead and reluctantly takes Apollo under her wing. The plot points you'd expect from this setup are here. The pet and its master each having their own expectations on the boundaries in place (who sleeps where, what isn't to be chewed on, etc.), Iris being on the verge of an eviction, the works.

It has a few plot elements that separate itself from the pack. For instance, rather than music taming Apollo to behave, it's poems and the spoken word that sooth and calm him down. I'm assuming that's how Walter knew what was good writing and what wasn't. It's a stretch, but I can't say I've seen this type of subplot elsewhere. They give the messenger telling Iris to relocate the dog an arc, so he's not completely irredeemable. A couple head-scratching details in the third act do cause "The Friend" to lose some gas towards the end.

On the whole, as an entry in the animal companion genre, "The Friend" fulfills its part just fine. The progression of Iris and Apollo coming to terms with each other's needs is made clear. There are times Apollo misbehaves, namely making a mess of the apartment, and Iris attempts to discipline him. Surprisingly, this film avoids delving into excremental humor, which in other hands could've easily been the case. So I applaud the film's direction with staying classy on that front. If you're seeing this for Bill Murray, prepare to be disappointed.

Despite the advertising, Murray is in here for no longer than half an hour. In fact, it's probably less than that. So a fair warning to avid Murray fans. Don't let this distinction scare you off as the cast does its part in lifting the material. Carla Gugino adds a subtle nuance to Elaine, a former lover of Walter's giving Iris advice for what to do going forward. Sarah Pidgeon is a new name worthy of mentioning as Val, another confidant to Iris who's also Walter's semi-flexible daughter. Based on her work here, she's bound to be a natural in the future.

"The Friend" is an easy recommendation for a rental. With its overall quality and what it has on offer, you'll best get your money's worth that way compared to a special trip to the theatres. It executes its simple premise fine and does so in a way that more respectable adults will find easy to digest. Compared to what we're used to getting, either CGI fests like "Marmaduke" or sob stories such as "A Dog's Purpose", I prefer a better middle ground like what "The Friend" has in mind. Anything that results in a better future for pet films is cool with me.

Final Verdict: 7/10