Before Dogtooth, before The Lobster, before The Favourite, there was My Best Friend, a film Lanthimos co-directed in 2001 with each ounce of his trademark oddness dialed way, way down. It’s hardly what you’d call “early Weird Wave”—it plays more like a Greek sitcom that accidentally forgot to be funny. Even Lanthimos himself has distanced from it, considering it little more than a footnote in a career built on uncanny discomfort, not fish-out-of-water farce
🧀 Plot in a Nutshell
A man named Konstantinos (Lakis Lazopoulos) misses a flight, comes home to finds his best friend Alekos (Antonis Kafetzopoulos) in bed with his wife, and decides—because Greek comedies must—this is the perfect time to craft an elaborate ruse to convince them he’s away . Hijinks ensue. Maybe? The film’s version of “mayhem” comes down to a few awkward walk-and-talks around Athens and some not-very-edgy marital chaos.
💤 The Tone—Awkward, But Not in a Good Way
This film wants to be bawdy, edgy—or at least cynical. Instead, it limps along like a theatrical production that lost its script. The scriptwriter is Lazopoulos himself—successful comedian, sure, but not Yorgos; so most of the biting absurdity we expect from Lanthimos is largely absent. As one Letterboxd user succinctly put it:
“Found this nearly‑impossible‑to‑see film… the semi‑incoherent, eye‑rollingly juvenile, garishly unappealing, disowned directorial debut of Yorgos Lanthimos.”
This isn’t a layered satire; it’s like an unfinished TV pilot nobody remembers pitching.
🧩 What’s Lanthimos Even Doing Here?
Lanthimos was essentially along for the ride—co-directing with Lazopoulos on a comedic project that didn’t suit his brand. Entertainment Weekly ranks the film as #8 in his filmography, calling it “far removed,” “technically his debut,” and—needless to say—not essential With little of his dark humor, stilted dialogue, or off-kilter framing, these are the cinematic equivalents of training wheels on a tour bus.
🛋️ Characters & Performances
Konstantinos is a scowling oddball turned comedic stooge—think someone who got cast as “Greek middle manager” in a sitcom. Alekos is less “best friend” and more “that guy who overstays his welcome.” Their dynamic is mean-spirited, but never sharp enough to be funny. Marital tension, betrayal, existential crisis? Maybe. Instead, what you get is a lot of padded negotiation, unnecessary overacting, and dramatic pauses that stall rather than build tension.
🤔 Stylistic Failings
The film is competently shot and edited—but the polish just highlights how unremarkable it all is. No visual hook. No rules-bending. The editing is tight, sure, but not in a way that underlines irony or tension . The pacing languishes. There’s no formal playfulness, no structural albino sea lions, no absurdist sexual undertones. Later works like Dogtooth thrive on precision torment; here, the torment is simply “watching men in Athens act weird for no reason.
😬 Humor That Doesn’t Land
Unless you find Greek farce irresistibly grainy, My Best Friend has very little payoff. Occasional one-liners and gags emerge, but few land. The film seems aspirational—reaching for emotional nastiness but settling for mildly scandalous marital awkwardness. One viewer observed:
“Hilarious, often confusing… but nothing to write home about.”
Which, when you consider the comedic potential, is damning indeed.
The Takeaway
If you’re diving into Lanthimos’s filmography, My Best Friend is optional. He himself omitted it from retrospectives, it’s nearly unwatchable without Greek subtitles, and it’s stylistically unrepresentative. The trademark deadpan dialogue? MIA. The dark psychological thrills? Gone. The cinematic tension? Nowhere to be found between the scenes of Konstantinos wandering Athens in mild distress.
It’s like eating a soufflé made from polystyrene—well-shaped, with even layers, but entirely hollow.
🔚 Final Rating
1.5 out of 5 souvlaki-flavored training wheels
Watch it only if you’re a complete Lanthimos completist and have exhausted everything even remotely weird in his filmography. Otherwise, skip this one and go straight to Dogtooth—where Greek weirdness is served up properly, not spoon-fed through warmed-over sitcom tropes.