Roommates: A Chaotic and Cameo Filled Coming-of-Age Movie

This year has already been a landmark year for Canadian film and television. From ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie‘ putting a global spotlight on Toronto, to ‘Heated Rivalry’ emerging as the most talked-about TV series this year, there’s clear momentum building. Now, writer-director Chandler Levack adds to that wave with not one, but two films dropping the same month, the first, ‘Mile End Kicks‘, is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story in the vein of ‘Almost Famous‘, diving into Montreal’s music scene and now Roommates, a glossy, cameo-filled Netflix comedy produced by Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy of Happy Madison Productions, and starring Sadie Sandler.

Roommates is centered around Devon Weisz (Sandler), a shy, sheltered first-year college student desperate to finally find her people. At orientation, she meets Celeste (East), another student that is her complete opposite, someone who is confident, chaotic, sports many tattoos, and is unapologetically bold. Despite their differences, the two form an instant bond and from there, decide to live together. Over the course of the film, Celeste helps Devon come out of her shell and experience the kind of friendship she has always longed for, but as the school year unfolds, cracks begin to show. Celeste’s increasingly erratic behavior reveals a series of red flags, turning Devon’s dream friendship into more of a nightmare.

On paper, Levack team up with Happy Madison feels like an odd match. While she has proven herself in the coming-of-age space, her work tends to lean toward dry humor and emotional sharpness, qualities not typically associated with the sillier tone of the Happy Madison brand. While Roommates is undeniably more polished and commercially slick than ‘I Like Movies‘ or ‘Mile End Kicks‘, her latest retains that biting edge. There is a streak of meanness running through the film that sets it apart from more conventional Netflix coming-of-age fare, constantly undercutting expectations. Meanwhile, it marks Sadie Sandler’s second major role following ‘You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah‘, and once again, she proves she has an easy screen presence and strong comedic instincts. Additionally, the film allows her to show even more of her range, convincingly capturing the awkwardness of early college life: friendships, identity, and first love.

That being said, the real standout is East. Known for her more endearing roles in films like ‘The Fabelmans‘ and ‘Heretic‘, she takes a sharp turn here, playing a character who is charismatic, but becomes volatile and often deeply unlikable. Nevrtheless, she fully commits, and shows a level of range that makes her one of the most exciting up-and-coming actors working today. While Jimmy Fowlie and Ceara O’Sullivan’s script is consistently funny, it plays things a little too safe for too long. By the time the film starts leaning into its more chaotic, over-the-top plot turns, that shift feels jarring. In spite of that jarring shift, Levack’s direction injects the film with some much-needed edge, giving it a distinct energy that helps it stand apart from others in this lane, even if this particular effort doesn’t completely subvert that familiar formula.

The framing device, following a guidance counselor recounting the story to two feuding roommates, doesn’t land. It undercuts the stakes of the main narrative and feels more distracting than insightful. And while Sarah Sherman often shines on SNL, she feels miscast here as Dr. Schilling, delivering a performance that is frankly irritating.

Overall, despite its flaws, Roommates remains a fun, energetic watch, boosted by entertaining cameos and relatable observations about the struggle to find one’s place in the world.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Tristan French