Strippers, Bosses, and the Police Crash the Party

Read Time:5 Minute, 10 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
BFFs
–

Genre: Comedy, Crime
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 21m
Director(s): Constantine Paraskevopoulos
Writer(s): Adam Rifkin
Cast: Adam Rifkin, Constantine Paraskevopoulos, Jennifer Morrison, Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard, Amaury Nolasco, Aníta Briem, Nick Stahl, Michael Bacall, Kane Hodder
Where to Watch: exclusively in theaters September 26, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: BFFS offers up the kind of chaotic energy that feels like it was designed to shake the buddy comedy out of its formula. Directed by Constantine Paraskevopoulos, who also co-stars, and written by Adam Rifkin, the film is a brash, messy, and sometimes brilliant examination of how friendships can both elevate and destroy us. What starts as a nostalgic reunion turns into an escalating spree of bad decisions, practical jokes, and criminal escapades that blur the line between loyalty and lunacy.

At the heart of the story are Henry Hartman (played by Rifkin), a man suffocating in mediocrity, and Jerry Klugman (Paraskevopoulos), the self-proclaimed spark meant to reignite Henry’s existence. Rifkin plays Henry as a beaten-down everyman: married to Dóra (Jennifer Morrison), expecting a child, and chained to a soul-crushing job under the thumb of Terrence Howard’s boss-from-hell, Mr. Coogan. There’s nothing subtle about Howard’s performance, and that’s precisely why it works. He commands every scene with a mixture of menace and absurdity, turning the archetype of a horrible boss into something that feels almost mythic.

Paraskevopoulos, in contrast, brings Jerry to life with a magnetic presence. He’s the kind of friend who arrives like a hurricane — crazy for five minutes before the destruction becomes unavoidable. Jerry is reckless, selfish, and charismatic enough that you understand why Henry can’t look away. Their dynamic fuels the film, with Rifkin grounding the chaos and Paraskevopoulos throwing gasoline on the fire.

Jennifer Morrison is a sharp adversary as Dóra, balancing warmth with exasperation as she watches her life tilt off its axis. Aníta Briem stands out as Anita, Jerry’s fiancée, whose secret life as a stripper sets off one of the film’s most outrageous narratives. Her late-night messages to Henry cross every boundary, escalating tension not just in Henry’s marriage but in his already fragile mental state. Then there’s Taye Diggs and Michael Bacall as members of the Phoenix PD, who function less as stabilizers. Their characters feel like they’ve stepped out of a completely different movie, one that merges cop comedy with sketch comedy. Kane Hodder even makes a cameo appearance in a smaller role, further emphasizing that this movie delights in unexpected cameos and genre nods.

The chaos can sometimes overwhelm the film’s pacing. With so many moving parts — bosses, strippers, cops, and collapsing marriages — the narrative occasionally feels like it’s sprinting in five different directions at once. While that contributes to the anarchic energy, it also leaves some arcs half-cooked. Morrison’s Dóra, for example, is given a strong setup but less payoff, her storyline bending to accommodate the central bromance more than her own character growth.

Terrence Howard, in particular, makes an unforgettable impression. He transforms Mr. Coogan into a figure of corporate tyranny, the kind of boss who feels simultaneously cartoonish and uncomfortably real. Diggs, meanwhile, leans into the absurdity of his police officer role, playing straight-faced through increasingly ridiculous circumstances.

The film aims for nostalgia and masculinity. It suggests that some friendships, no matter how formative, may not survive adulthood. Jerry represents a refusal to grow up, a figure who idolizes chaos under the guise of loyalty. Henry, on the other hand, clings to the possibility that reconnecting with Jerry could restore something he’s lost. Their collision becomes both comedic and tragic, illustrating how easily old bonds can reignite — and how quickly they can consume everything in their path.

By the time the film heads toward its conclusion, the question isn’t whether Henry and Jerry will survive the fallout but how many others they’ll take down with them. The humor is mean, the antics relentless, and the tone unapologetically over-the-top. BFFS isn’t aiming for refinement — it’s a deliberately rough-edged ride, one that embraces its excesses and dares you to laugh even as things go completely off the rails.

In the end, BFFS is a messy but entertaining plunge into friendship’s darker corners. It doesn’t always balance itself, but it delivers enough energy and memorable performances to make it stand out. With Paraskevopoulos and Rifkin at the core, the film captures the dangerous allure of reconnecting with a friend who should probably stay in the past. It may not be for everyone, but for those willing to endure the chaos, it’s one wild night at the movies.

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[photo courtesy of AMMNI STUDIOS, DIGITAL IGNITION ENTERTAINMENT, RZA PRODUCTIONS, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY (CAA), SEISMIC RELEASING]

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