DRINKING BUDDIES – The sounds of slurping Beer will haunt my dreams forever

I personally hate the sound of people eating and drinking. The sound of Popcorn in the theater reminds me of crickets. I don’t buy Pringles or Kit Kat’s due to the obnoxious commercials. My disdain for this was brought to the forefront with Drinking Buddies as throughout the entire film they are drinking beer or should I say loudly yet slowly slurping their beers. It will make you want to break a beer bottle and use it as a weapon to stab your tympanic membrane, praying for hearing loss. These are not elderly people eating hot soup, they are drinking cold beer. The foley “artist” who sweetened up the sound should be taken out to pasture and put down.
Luke and Kate work together in a Chicago brewery flirting all day and drinking at night. They are the perfect couple except for the fact that they both have significant others.
When Kate (Olivia Wilde) and her boyfriend Chris (Ron Livingston) decide to go to camping with Luke (Jake Johnson) and his longtime fiancée Jill (Anna Kendrick); It’s obvious from the onset that the couples are mismatched and would be better off just swapping. Chris has to be the most boring music producer in the history of music, perfectly suited for the schlumpy Jill who feels the strain from not taking the next step in her relationship. For the majority of the trip everyone hangs out with the others spouse. Upon return home Chris and Kate breakup creating an awkward environment for all involved, particularly in the flirting and friendship of Luke and Kate. Kate’s new found freedom stokes the ire of Luke who is somewhat possessive and protective of Kate even though he is still for some unknown reason together with Jill. Luke just needs to grow a set and make his move.
The real intentions of all of the parties involved are never provided and the decisions they make are baffling, they hang out and flirt and lead each other on without even making the awkward drunken move. Drinking buddies tries to be a hipster romance yet never expounds on the relationships. They hang out at work and drink beer. They hang out at their various apartments and drink beer. This is understandable they get free beer. Yet after work they go to the same bar to hang out and this time buy beer. It’s like a bad relationship that has its moments but ultimately doesn’t go anywhere. The cast is enjoyable enough, even if the film never utilizes its biggest name Jason Sudeikis (in a throw away role, he clearly owed a favor to his real life girlfriend Olivia Wilde.)
Drinking Buddies is a meandering and directionless film merely  content to just hang out.
Coming out on VOD the 25th of July with a theatrical release in August.
Grade- 70