Austin Film Festival Short Feature Review: ‘Hi, Friends!’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One particular surprise that we run into in adulthood, is how hard it is to make new friends. Which one would think would not be the case. After all, we’re adults now. So, we know how to talk to people and engage in conversation, wherein we can discover one another’s likes and dislikes and see if by chance… we can be friends. But alas, our inner friend circle is smaller in adulthood, and it really is quite the bear to make new ones and well… it’s hard for us to figure out why. So, we have tendency to ponder deeply upon what’s wrong with us and how perhaps we can be more open and friendly, so that we can attract those all-important new pals.
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After all, friends can enrich our lives in so many ways. Especially if they grow to be close friends, those ride or die buddies that will be with us through thick and thin. But while it can indeed be a bear to make friends, to the point where we think upon how we can be better… what if… we are not the problem? What if there are other issues that are at play here, some that are out of our control when it comes to making friends? Well, it just so happens, that a short feature that screened at the Austin Film Festival, ponders upon those very questions. Which makes Hi, Friends! a supremely poignant film that really dives deep into some factors about friendship we haven’t given much thought to.

A feat that it accomplishes by dropping us into the heart of New York City on one fine day. Wherein a loving couple have joined a massive group for a good ol’ fashioned picnic. One designed to help everyone get to know one another in a relaxed setting, so all can become closer friends and really bond in this moment. But alas, this picnic turns out to be an outright disaster. Because it doesn’t take long for egos to come into play as some try to take control of the day’s activities to give them what will please them, while others just plain make the whole event as awkward as it gets, giving rise to a stressful day that truly does inform us… that sometimes… adulthood is to blame in our friendship failures.

Because we are so self-aware and cognizant in adulthood that we know what will work for us from a friendship standpoint. Which we base on past experiences and that prompts some poor behaviors from us. The kind where test people quickly when we meet them and write them off if they don’t suit our needs, and that’s not helpful. Plus, we tend to test boundaries and push people to see how they will respond in an effort to have them pass another test, and that too is not helpful in the slightest. Not to mention, some people just try too hard and flat out make it weird in the not fun way, and all of those elements are showcased in a matter of minutes, as is in many ways… the solve to making friends in adulthood.

In that, we have to drop the expectations, games, and the façade we sometimes put up, and just do it like we did when we were kids. Where we just approach one another honestly and earnestly and hang out and have fun and see if a bond forms. But until then, our adult thinking will get in the way, and that truth makes for a fascinating feature. One that is handled in a comedic and twisted manner courtesy of Wheaton Simis' amazing script and direction. But that is the best way to hammer home, that we are often our own worst enemies, and if we could just get out of our way for a few minutes… we might have exactly what we want in this life, when it comes to the new friends we seek.

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