The Friend (2025)- Naomi Watts, Carla Gugino, Bill Murray, Constance Wu

Quick Take: This is admittedly just my first thought of The Friend. I was invited to get an advance screener for this film, which actually didn’t arrive to me until after the release of this film, and it does have audio description, though like 95% of the screeners I get, it did not come with the track. So, I have a basic idea of the film, but the co-lead for Naomi Watts is a dog. I would consider audio description paramount for blind and low vision viewers.

Naomi Watts stars as a friend who inherits a Great Dane named Apollo after her author buddy (Bill Murray) commits suicide. He left the dog to her, and not any of his ex-wives, or his current wife, despite Watts living in a small rent controlled apartment that doesn’t allow dogs. therefore, Watts is hesitant to take on the dog, and immediately explores other options so she doesn’t lose her home. however, while she’s grieving, so is the dog, and they become pals in solace.

Bleaker Street is releasing. I wouldn’t call this a happy film, and even with audio description, i don’t expect this to jump into my Top 10 at the end of the year, like I went on a limb for with Ezra. However, I’m bothering to review this pre-audio description because I did like the film, and it is currently in theatres with audio description. So, this is a solid recommend, one that won’t change when my accessibility is met.

It did remind me that too many people in charge of picking classical music for scores rely on the handful of overplayed arias. Here, there’s the Papageno/Papagena duet from the magic Flute, and La Ci Darem La Mano, two opera pieces that appear often in film. I don’t understand why they are here, because those who love opera would want more deep cuts like how people who listen to other genres do. But, lots of films have this problem. It isn’t a solid reason to skip the Friend, though if you are going for Bill Murray, you should be aware he has very little screentime. The film does co-star Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Ann Dowd, and others, and his screentime is comparable to them. He is o where near the time Naomi Watts is on screen, or even the dog playing Apollo.

Fresh: No Grade Yet Due To Lack Of Audio Description