First Look: One Of Them Days Starring Keke Palmer & SZA

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Teen Vogue gave its readers an exclusive look at SZA and Keke Palmer’s new film, One of Them Days. Reporter Brande Victorian sat down with the stars, producer Issa Rae, and screenwriter Syreeta Singleton during an exclusive set visit for the comedy that is slated to hit theaters on January 17, 2025.

Highlights from their conversations include:

SZA on her acting debut: “When I got on camera it was spooky, but Keke literally ushered me through,” the singer tells Teen Vogue.
Keke Palmer on working with SZA post-SNL: “I should have known. Like, I see that GIF used every single day and that was the beginning of our budding platonic romance that has continued to develop over time,” Palmer continues. “Getting this opportunity to do this movie with her has been an unbelievable journey.”
Syreeta Singleton praises SZA’s casting as Alyssa: “She’s so smart and so funny and so deep and kind of has that art girl vibe to her. It just feels perfect, and seeing [her and Keke] together, they’re a perfect yin-and-yang. They play off of each other so well.”
Issa Rae calls ONE OF THEM DAYS a “unique female Friday:” “[Singleton] is one of my favorite writers because there’s such an effortless display of friendship, of Black women [in her work],” says Issa Rae, who’s a producer on the film. “She has a way of being able to create people that I know, that I’m familiar with, and put them in these situations that I or friends have been in, and they’re just real while also being smartly written. This particular project, as soon as I read it, I was like, ‘Yesss, this is kind of a female Friday.’ But it’s its own unique story that will stand on its own.”
Issa Rae on the film getting a theatrical release: “I think theatrical is extremely special and it’s also its own marketing tool,” Rae says. “Going to the theater is a special event. It’s also a friendship event. You want to feel like you’re going for a reason, and you want to be guaranteed that it’s going to be good. The theatrical release shows a belief in this project.”
Keke Palmer confirms costuming homages to Friday, and praises costume designer Kairo Courts: “This kind of homage to Craig and Friday, she’s done a lot of fun stuff like that because there are elements of nostalgia to this, but still it has its own modern flair,” Palmer says of Courts’ work, which she says she is a fan of onscreen and off. “I did wear a [costume] out when I got off work early,” she confesses. “I went into their closet, and I said, ‘Hey, hook me up!’ And I was good. Got a wig from hair as well.”
Keke Palmer on Black women getting to do buddy comedies like Will Smith and Eddie Murphy: “It was a dream because I’m also trying to be like, ‘Women can be that, too,’” says Palmer. Female buddy films have been few and far between since the late 2010s, and are even more sparse when it comes to Black female buddy films. “It’s not even like I’m trying to force it. It’s just like, give us a chance to show you motherf*ckers what we can do.” … “Even with Nope, my opportunity to do comedy there, but then also action and drama and in the end being able to slay the dragon, I felt like that was such a great opportunity for people to allow women to have characters that are really only usually given to men,” Palmer adds. “I think it’s the same thing with this. We are not afraid to get silly, not afraid to get a little nasty, not afraid to get a little tough when we have to be. And that’s the range I think that we deserve to see.”