Roommates Review: Netflix’s newest comedy has a simple premise. Following two college freshmen sharing a dorm, the film goes on to show how their relationship devolved from being best friends to slowly hating one another as they start to room together. The film is a realistic and uncomfortable portrayal of early adulthood friendships that, although sometimes exaggerated, is extremely relatable.
Roommates Netflix Cast
Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Billy Bryk, Sarah Sherman, Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, Aidan Langford, Carol Kane, Janeane Garofalo, Martin Herlihy
Roommates Movie Director
Chandler Levack
Roommates 2026 Writers
Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O’Sullivan
The comedy film has a runtime of 107 minutes.
Roommates Review
Plot & premise
Devon wasn’t unpopular in high school, but she never fostered a close friendship with anyone. Thus, her first and only wish was to get a great roommate with whom she could bond. Thus, when she stumbles upon Celeste, the effortlessly cool girl at her college, she immediately strikes up a friendship with her, eventually becoming roommates.
What starts as a promising bond, though, soon turns chaotic when Celeste becomes passive-aggressive, turning their once sweet relationship into a battlefield filled with jealousy and boundary issues. The dynamic between Devon and Celeste becomes the film’s core strength, showcasing the odd intimacy of freshman friendships and how boundaries can be overcome more often than not.
Performances
Sadie Sandler is extremely relatable as Devon and brings forth her awkwardness impressively. She brings forth a grounded performance, mixing awkward charm and emotional vulnerability, and ultimately finding her voice and confidence. Chloe East, as Celeste, is also fantastic, and they share a very chaotic chemistry with one another. She plays Celeste with charisma and edge, so much so that viewers will find themselves drawn to her naturally. The supporting cast is also on point and is enjoyable to watch.
Tone & direction
The film is thoroughly engaging, able to pinpoint the feeling of slowly losing control of your life to someone close to you. The turn is slow but steady, getting viewers uncomfortable as Celeste slowly goes over boundaries. It also highlights another aspect of young friendships – while bonds are formed extremely fast, they also break at the drop of a hat.
The film mixes light teen comedy, social satire and character drama well, providing viewers with a grounded and relatable story that is both hilarious and uncomfortable. The situations are so relatable that they get under your skin, and you hope for justice, even though this is a fictional drama!
The tonal juggling works brilliantly, and the vibe between being Mean Girls and a heartwarming coming-of-age drama works in favour of the film.
Themes
One of the major themes in Roommates is about finding oneself in college – the awkward bridge between childhood and adulthood. College is the time to make mistakes and learn from them, and Devon’s journey is one that most viewers might have gone through. The awkwardness of sharing a space, the hope of finding life-long friends and the fragile line between friendship and rivalry are brought forth quite well.
What works
The central theme and the storytelling are charming and quite infectious, so much so that viewers will find themselves instantly interested. It captures the intense bonds of dorm life and the emotions that go behind venturing into the real world. Although sometimes exaggerated for comedic effect, there’s truth behind it.
Final Thoughts: Should you watch Roommates?
Roommates is a very enjoyable and its surprisingly honest portrayal of dorm life, along with hilarious and relatable performances, makes it a must-watch. It captures the messy reality of college friendships with an extreme twist and leaves you entertained throughout.
What are your thoughts on Netflix’s Roommates? Let us know in the comments below!
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Wooohooo there Netflix, you made an actually good honest movie that is free for AI AND COMPUTER CRAP
Real people, real stuff, real good acting, doing real fun stuff.. this is rare, it’s like travel back to 1990,
Cool young people for once, crazy young life, without too much love crap, you know girl meet boy then she atend too school boring shit,
Good start they are funny, they doing something fun and crazy,
Then after the rope thing it’s just going down hill, it’s getting boring just girl talk for 30 minutes,
Then it’s does getting in the clubs stuff at night, shitty clubs, don’t let in people who’s different and so on, this makes me unhappy,
Then the sex and the boys comes in and it becomes the usually shit, meeting the parents boring stuff, can’t those girls as a group do something fun together???
Then is breaking the law at a bar fake ID, the usually, the main girl has a nut for brain….
Then some family fun at home….Okies could do better without grandma and parents….