When shy college freshman Devon asks cool-girl Celeste to be her roommate, a blossoming friendship quickly spirals into a war of passive aggression.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.7/10
IMDb: 5.7/10
Letterboxd: 2.90/5
Metacritic: 57
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Chandler Levack
Production
Happy Madison Productions
Cast
Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Billy Bryk, Sarah Sherman, Martin Herlihy, Josh Segarra, Carol Kane, Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, Janeane Garofalo, Aidan Langford, Bella Murphy, Jaya Harper, Storm Reid, Ivy Wolk, Bailee Madison, Megan Thee Stallion, Steve Buscemi, Sofia Gonzalez, Dan Bulla
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, mean-spirited college comedy with strong chemistry and a very online sense of escalation. It sounds funniest when it leans into social warfare, but the appeal will depend on how much you enjoy watching passive aggression turn into full-blown chaos.
Best for
Viewers who like toxic-friendship comedies
Fans of campus satire and social-climbing stories
People who enjoy heightened, memeable performances
Audiences looking for a queer-tinged coming-of-age edge
Skip if
You want warm, likable characters
You dislike cruelty-based comedy
You prefer broad, plotty studio comedies over character warfare
Passive-aggressive relationship drama sounds exhausting
Overview
Roommates plays like a college comedy built out of side-eyes, status anxiety, and the kind of friendship that curdles in public. The setup is simple, but the tension comes from how quickly admiration turns into resentment, and how every small slight becomes a declaration of war.
Worth noting
The film seems to live or die on performance: a shy outsider against a cool-girl antagonist, with the latter designed to be infuriating in exactly the way that keeps the movie moving. The Letterboxd reaction suggests it lands best when it commits to being vicious, funny, and a little unhinged rather than trying to soften its edges.
Bottom line
If you like campus comedies that feel emotionally messy and socially specific, this should be an easy watch. If you need your comedy to be generous or affectionate, the passive-aggression may wear thin before the payoff arrives.
Top Letterboxd reviews
lizzie (5★) · 8831 likes
they were so intimate it was like a lesbian period piece
Hanne🌷 (4★) · 8754 likes
Why is she so evil omg
lani 🎃 (4★) · 8617 likes
if someone outed my sibling like that, i too would end up like devon in jail. also girl, so confusing at the end was the cherry on top!!
1999 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 43m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (309.8K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
A brilliant portrait of ambition, resentment, and petty vengeance in a school setting.
2016 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 45m · R · Curator 6.1/10 (974.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu
A sharper, more empathetic coming-of-age comedy about loneliness, envy, and social humiliation.
Topics
college comedy, toxic friendship, campus satire, mean girls, queer undertones, social rivalry, coming-of-age, dark comedy, messy relationships, millennial-gen z tone