Two big new comedy movies are available to watch this week

Just when it feels like there hasn't been a major comedy released in ages, two arrive together.

The first film stars man-of-the-moment Danny Dyer (fresh off his acclaimed turn in Disney+'s hit series Rivals) as he reunites with his frequent collaborator, director Nick Love.

The pair previously worked together on such British cult crime classics as The Business and The Football Factory, with Marching Powder feeling like a spiritual sequel to the latter.

In Marching Powder, Dyer plays Jack - an ageing, drug-taking football hooligan whose lifestyle has put a strain on his marriage to his long-suffering wife (scene-stealer Stephanie Leonidas) and has caused him to have multiple run-ins with the law.

Arrested after some violent matchday exploits, Jack is given six weeks to turn his life around or else face a long spell in prison.

Though Dyer is playing a version of his always watchable, comedic, geezery self, it's hard to escape the feeling Marching Powder might have worked better as a drama.

That's because the most successful parts of the movie are its more serious moments, examining what might have happened to Dyer's Football Factory hooligan if he continued the drugs and the fighting into his '40s and also how such behaviour has become less prevalent and accepted in modern UK society.

At one point, Jack at rock bottom declares: "I'm a stain on society. My optics are all wrong. No one wants me around."

Too often, however, Love's bombastic direction - filled with animation, flashy title cards, fourth-wall breaks and narration - and his screenplay's crass and crude humour feel at odds with this central story, undercutting its brief moments of actual emotion and sincerity with snark.

As such, Marching Powder doesn't quite continue the Danny Dyer-aissance. Let's hope his upcoming Phone Booth-esque film does, though.

The more successful of the two comedies out in cinemas this weekend is the American buddy flick One of Them Days.

Starring Keke Palmer (Nope), she plays Dreux - a woman living in Los Angeles having a day from hell.

On the eve of an interview for a big promotion at her restaurant job, she and her airy-fairy artist roommate, Alyssa (pop star SZA, making an excellent acting debut), must run around the city to garner up enough money to avoid eviction from their rundown apartment.

In the process, however, they end up on the wrong side of a local gangster (Amin Joseph) and a vengeful local woman (Aziza Scott) with whom Alyssa's wastrel boyfriend (Joshua Neal) is having an affair.

One of Them Days is probably less gag-heavy than Marching Powder. Yet, its jokes and set pieces hit harder, with the help of a fun supporting cast that also includes such naturally funny people as Janelle James, Katt Williams, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Lil Rel Howery and Maude Apatow.

Plus, amidst all the comedy and chaos, you really do care about Alyssa and Dreux thanks to Palmer and SZA's star-power and natural chemistry with each other - with the film evolving as it goes into a story about the importance of friends in difficult times.

Marching Powder and One of Them Days are available to watch in cinemas from Friday, 7 March.

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