Rent Free – A Film by Fernándo Andrés

July 14, 2025
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Montrose Star
Posted in STAR FLIX
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Film review by Derick Matthews

Do we get to choose our responsibilities?

As each new generation comes along, it does appear that we all become a little more existential and anxiety-ridden when it comes to how we handle and take on the world.

Blame it on the baby boomers adhering a little too closely to Dr. Spock’s views on child rearing or the technological advances that somehow both connect and isolate each of us from ever making any true connections. A vast amount of Gen Zs’ today seem to be in an unprecedented state of turmoil both fiscally and personally.

The fluid dramedy film Rent Free, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, which will be available to the masses on June 27, gives us a fresh take on these verities by exploring best friends Ben and Jordan as they try to figure out their lives in perhaps the worst possible way by meandering through them and reiterating their same toxic traits.

When we first meet these two well-intentioned but self-centered 20 something males, they are finally making their big move to the Big Apple from Austin, Texas. But quickly things go awry when homosexual Ben makes a move (goes down) on their best friend’s ‘straight’ boyfriend with whom Ben and Jordan have been staying. After they are forced to move back to Austin, Ben initiates a year-long pact between the two where neither will pay rent and essentially couch-surf at the homes of their friends.

Rent-Free is popular for its modern portrayal of its characters as young adults in a somewhat prevaricated manner and the social constructs that exist between them. Hence, the way they speak, interact and explore their sexuality with each other. Ultimately, these two must discover for themselves as do the majority of fresh adults that freedom doesn’t necessarily mean not having any ties to ground them, but being able to choose which responsibilities they are willing to personally accept.

It is a true slice-of-life film that uses sardonic humor as well as an undercurrent of poignancy that threads throughout, leaving audiences both in stitches and perhaps contemplating the states of where their own lives have ended up in the so-called trajectory of success.

Rent-Free may not be the perfect date movie, but I highly recommend this film if you want to see a snapshot of reality that can be both riotous and quite jarring collectively.