Scooter Corkle has tried so many unnecessary things in his latest release, “The Friendship Game,” yet everything falls flat. The title is as mediocre as the plot itself. The writers became so perplexed with the script that it became difficult for viewers to determine whether it was a sci-fi or a horror freak show. Apart from the casting, everything else in the film failed to leave a mark. Even the dialogues are so poorly written that the numerous mentions of the word “friendship” will suffocate your ears to death. If Scooter had made a simpler film with a much better plot, he might have been able to tell a better story through it.
Spoilers Ahead
‘The Friendship Game’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
The film starts with Cotton Allen (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) looking at the things that have been put on sale by local vendors. She discovered a mysterious pentagon-shaped object there. An older woman, upon later interacting with her, told her that the thing is used as an object in a game called “The Friendship Game.” However, Zooza (Peyton List) came in at that moment, and they agreed to play the game. The rest of the four members of the gang—Courtney (Kelcey Mawema) and Robbie (Brendan Meyer)—were not that interested in participating in the game. However, Cotton convinced them to play the game. The rituals of the game were simple. They all had to put their right hand on the object and speak of their deepest desire. The only rule was that they had to be honest about their desires, and the only way they could win the game was by playing it right to the end. So, the game starts, and Cotton is the first to share her deepest desire.
Cotton
Cotton did not want to leave the reality she was living right now. She despised the fact that one day she would have to go to college, get a job, marry someone, and then be forced to start a family. Once she starts her own family, she knows that nothing will remain the same. She feared that her friendship with Zooza, Courtney, and Robbie would be forgotten. She never wanted this to happen. She had always tried to prevent the friendship from breaking, no matter what the circumstances were. She had been a dedicated friend, and she wanted things to remain as such. So, in the game, she honestly talked about her deepest desire to break out of the reality where she grows to become a mother or a wife to someone. All she desired was to remain friends with Zooza and the others.
Zooza
Zooza was still recovering from the fact that her father abandoned them. She had a tough time being friends with someone, as she feared losing her close ones. She had this insecurity where she found it uncomfortable to be attached to someone. Since her father left, she had built this wall around her that hardly anyone could pass through. At such a moment, her closest friends were about to leave the town and pursue their careers elsewhere right after the summer break. This devastated Zooza; however, she tried to resist her actual emotions in front of them. So, when her turn came, her deepest desire was to not think about her friends much while they were gone. She didn’t want to burden herself with her friends’ memories so that she could move on from the fact that she was alone in this town with no one to call a friend.
Robbie And Courtney
Robbie and Courtney’s wishes were obvious for some reason. Robbie’s deepest desire was to be good in bed or, in other terms, have intercourse. Courtney, however, wanted to get into the college she had always dreamed about. But she did not secure the required marks to get into that college. So, she knew that her deepest desire to get into the college of her dreams wouldn’t come true as it was not logically possible. Robbie’s desire, however, had the chance of becoming true. However, the way it came true, Robbie would never ask for such a thing if he knew what lay ahead.
‘The Friendship Game’ Ending Explained – Did Robbie Kill Zooza? Did Cotton’s Desire Come Alive?
Since all of them had wished for one thing or another, the object somehow created a different reality. In this reality, everyone’s wishes were to be answered. So, as Cotton wished for them to remain friends and Robbie wanted to be good at intercourse, these wishes somehow collided with one another. It is quite simple to understand that, as they all made their wishes in the same universe, their wishes came true altogether in another reality. Here, Robbie was so good at intercourse that he had been with all three of the girls. Also, Zooza was living a life where her friends were turned against each other and lost all bonds. Courtney was also admitted to the college of her choice. The impossible was becoming possible. But in each of their own realities, only Cotton was not a part of it. Cotton wanted to remain friends, but the other wishes overruled her desire.
Only Cotton was not selfish in her deepest desire. If you see it that way, you will get the answer to why she was dead in each reality. Zooza wanted to forget about her friends once they left her and the town. Because she did not want to go through the same pain, she faced after her father left. It was her desire for self-preservation that drove her to express such a desire. Courtney and Robbie’s wishes were also too selfish. They just wanted to be good at something without caring about the friendship. Maybe it was not their intention, or they did not think through how their wishes might affect their friendship. Zooza’s unwillingness to be concerned about their friendship, Courtney’s wish to get into a college far from the town, and Robbie’s wish to become good at intercourse would definitely have an effect on the core group. Apart from Cotton, nobody actually cared for their friendship. So, to sustain Cotton’s desire to remain friends with them, she must die and see whether that makes her friends remain intact or not.
At last, when Robbie had already killed Cotton and Courtney, Zooza was fighting for her life. She told Robbie not to kill her as they were best friends. Suddenly, Cotton’s ghost appeared and accused Zooza of betraying her. Zooza’s wish to not think about their friendship while her friends were gone deeply hurt Cotton. She thought that her friendship with Zooza meant nothing to her. Zooza was the only one who could make these messed-up realities go away. Zooza feared that everyone would leave her like her father, so she feared to embrace the reality that her friends would leave to pursue their dreams. We need to accept the truth that friends don’t stay forever, but only by accepting it do we also allow for the possibility of struggle. What struggle? Well, being friends, we remain intact like before. Once the distance comes in between, it is really hard to maintain the friendship like always, but that doesn’t mean that the moments we’ve all shared are gone. Zooza embraced the fact, and everything stopped.
Then we see another reality where Cotton is again standing in front of the object while the older woman is telling her about “the friendship game.” However, this time, Zooza interfered and told the woman that they did not need any games to understand their friendship. This is what friendship is supposed to mean. It is not about measuring or examining it but about maintaining it forever. So, Cotton’s wish somehow came true as Zooza finally embraced the reality of letting go.
Theory
There is a slight chance that the older woman is Zooza from a different reality. In reality, Zooza might have lost all her friends due to playing the friendship game. Maybe that was the reality we saw throughout the film. Anyway, that older woman, or Zooza, is now trying to help people understand exactly what real friendship means.
“The Friendship Game” is a 2022 horror thriller film directed by Scooter Corkle.
