Emergency

Name: Emergency
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: May 20, 2022
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 73
Cast: Diego Abraham, Donald Watkins, Gillian Rabin, Maddie Nichols, Madison Thompson

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Ratings

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Emergency

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Movie Details & Credits

Amazon Studios | Release Date: May 20, 2022 | R

Starring: Diego Abraham, Donald Watkins, Gillian Rabin, Maddie Nichols, Madison Thompson, Patrick Lamont Jr., RJ Cyler, Sabrina Carpenter, Sebastian Chacon, Summer Madison

Movie Facts:

Available on Amazon Prime Video May 27, 2022.

Summary: Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and his best friend, Sean (RJ Cyler), are both seniors in college about to embark on an epic night of Spring Break parties. Sean has the whole night planned out, including every party they will hit on their “legendary tour.” Kunle is down, yet mostly concerned with finishing up his mold experiment in his lab, asKunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and his best friend, Sean (RJ Cyler), are both seniors in college about to embark on an epic night of Spring Break parties. Sean has the whole night planned out, including every party they will hit on their “legendary tour.” Kunle is down, yet mostly concerned with finishing up his mold experiment in his lab, as his acceptance to Princeton is hinging on the results. They return to their apartment to pre-game, yet find that their roommate, Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), left the door open. As they enter with trepidation, Sean and Kunle discover a drunk, semi-conscious White female they don’t know on the floor and an oblivious Carlos, who didn’t hear her come in over the videogame blaring in his ears. Kunle wants to call the cops but Sean vehemently opposes the idea concerned how it will look when the cops show up (two Black men, one Latino man and a passed out White woman). Together, Carlos, Sean and Kunle load the girl - who they nickname Goldilocks, but whose real name is Emma (Maddie Nichols) - into Sean’s van, with the intention of taking her somewhere safe rather than calling the police. Meanwhile, Emma’s sister, Maddy (Sabrina Carpenter), has realized that Emma left the party they were at, and begins to search for her in a drunk panic using Emma’s phone’s location. What ensues is a chaotic, hilarious, and tension- filled chase all over town as our trio grapples with their differences while attempting to bring Emma to safety.
… Expand

Director: Carey Williams

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 105 min

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Bob Strauss

May 17, 2022

“It’s not what it looks like” is both the marketing tagline for Emergency and an accurate description of this ingenious independent film. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

May 18, 2022

The classic college party-crawl comedy gets a smart, self-aware refresh with Emergency, a funny, adroitly executed satire that manages to find genuine laughs in the unlikeliest places. Read full review

Matt Donato

Mar 15, 2022

It walks a tightrope with its topics, but Williams is delicate and confident with every step — his performers following close behind, dominating the screen. Read full review

Mark Keizer

May 17, 2022

It’s easy to imagine Williams taking this story and crafting either a boisterously funny, obstacle-filled mad dash to the hospital or an indignant, op-ed baiting thesis on post-George Floyd America. Instead, he turns down the heat and blends the two, creating a buddy comedy of errors shot through with an ever-darkening undercurrent of racial commentary. Read full review

Lisa Kennedy

May 19, 2022

Thanks to some good filmmaking decisions, Emergency is rife with tart observations about campus life. Read full review

Jacob Oller

Jan 22, 2022

Emergency’s ensemble sustains its premise for far longer than it should be able to, maintaining the nuanced balance of commentary-thriller-comedy whenever the script becomes too interested in just one ingredient of its complex cocktail. Read full review

Sarah-Tai Black

Jun 2, 2022

The biggest disappointment of Williams’ film then is not the ordinariness of its style and narrative mechanisms or even its safe and easy politics in search of a similarly broad audience, but its unwillingness to disrupt, with full and heavy weight, the exact things that it critiques. Read full review

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User Reviews

st3phaniie

May 23, 2022

this movie was sooo good. the first half had me laughing and then i was crying. the friendship in this is beautiful. the whole cast did an amazing job portraying the characters. ps. the movie did an amazing job portraying real struggles poc face

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

Aredsong15

Sep 17, 2022

It's a good movie I loved it so much. And Sabrina Carpenter is really the best actress to the role

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Medeiro2014

May 30, 2022

At the beginning I felt problems in how the story progressed, but the characters were worth it, it has a very good depth in the characters, the acting is excellent. I really enjoyed the last half movie and the first 20 minutes, the story knows how to reach the heart and the mind toAt the beginning I felt problems in how the story progressed, but the characters were worth it, it has a very good depth in the characters, the acting is excellent. I really enjoyed the last half movie and the first 20 minutes, the story knows how to reach the heart and the mind to understand social points of great importance, although it does not focus on them, they just come naturally there were touches of comedy that balanced the movie, the ending was incredible, it touched my heart.

Al inicio sentí problemas en como avanzaba la historia, pero los personajes valían la pena, tiene una muy buen profundidad en los personajes, la actuación excelente. De verdad disfrute la última media película, la historia sabe llegar al corazón y a la mente para entender puntos sociales de gran importancia para entender puntos sociales de gran importancia, aunque no se enfoca en ellos, estos solo llegan de forma natural, hubo toques de comedia que balancearon la película, el final fue increíble, me llego al corazón.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

bertobellamy

Jun 4, 2022

With an honest bromance and college comedy tropes at its core, 'Emergency' knows when to be funny, but it doesn't shy away from the most crucial thing: portraying the very real fear of black people dying just for being black.

The premise about three POCs finding a white girl unconscious inWith an honest bromance and college comedy tropes at its core, 'Emergency' knows when to be funny, but it doesn't shy away from the most crucial thing: portraying the very real fear of black people dying just for being black.

The premise about three POCs finding a white girl unconscious in their dorm could make you think that this is a 2000-esque juvenile comedy, but things get dark eventually, and 'Emergency' knows how to make an effective and respectful transition to those moments.

Of course, RJ Cyler and Donald Elise Waktins' acting is what makes this all work. Their confronting ideas about being black translate very well into both funny and serious scenes. In the end, the way both actors portray their friendship, their fears, and their aspirations are what makes 'Emergency' a solid film.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Stream2BigScree

Jun 8, 2022

Streamers, we’ve found a streaming option that you may not have heard about – unless you went on Amazon Prime and saw those banners everywhere. The movie is called Emergency. College besties are ready for a legendary night of senior year partying, but an emergency situation throws a wrenchStreamers, we’ve found a streaming option that you may not have heard about – unless you went on Amazon Prime and saw those banners everywhere. The movie is called Emergency. College besties are ready for a legendary night of senior year partying, but an emergency situation throws a wrench in their plans. The roommates must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police when faced with an unexpected situation.

Now, the biggest qualm with this movie is that it is supposed to be primarily a comedy? The real problem is the way the movie is marketed. I don’t think we should necessarily call this a comedy, but I guess it is. I thought I was going to see a fun last-night-of-college-party romp. I thought it would be a straight-forward buddy comedy that’s easy to digest. If you were looking for something light to end the night with a chuckle, boy did Amazon lead you astray! Emergency has some quirky, weed heavy, ironic chuckles in the first 30 minutes but then the humor is quite sparse throughout the rest. Once you get into the main part of the plot, things get very tense. After talking, I found this a bit funnier than Trip; but where we agree is Emergency definitely leans heavily on the drama and the real-life plight that black and brown people face when encountering or potentially interacting with the police. I was not expecting what Emergency actually was. Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. It just wasn’t what I expected. If you give this movie the chance, you will be completely caught up in the situation and the decisions that the main characters make.

Where this movie succeeds is in the story telling and the plot. I felt like I was one of the guys going on an epic senior year bender one last time. Then, it felt like I was right in the strife with them. One might even say the movie hit too close to home. I think the movie ultimately succeeds in showing how complex a situation can become when race is a potential factor. It allows the suspense to build with every decision made by the main characters has the potential for disaster. The tension of the situation and the relationships is harnessed very well. I bet you will be screaming at the screen as these guy goes deeper and deeper into this situation. Part of the credit has to go to RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins and Sebastian Chacon, who believably play these college seniors that make want to make smart decision but seem to make bad decisions at every turn. They play off of each other well and make these character feel real.

Long story short, Emergency is a very good movie from Amazon Studios. Where they lacked in the comedy, they picked up in a compelling and heartfelt story of the struggle of black and brown men in society. The line between hero and victim is razor thin for this population and Emergency definitely displays it. It is a must-see experience, so grab your box of popcorn and strap in.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JLuis_001

Jun 2, 2022

I believe it doesn't take full advantage of its premise, but I can't deny the effectiveness of what it presents.
Sometimes portraying such complicated and heavy topics with a satirical and humorous touch at least gets the message across to a wider audience and that's what works best for this film.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MetacriticOnur

Jun 1, 2022

bad
[ bad ]

adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36.
not good in any manner or degree.

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

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