Roommates 2026 Analysis | Growth Through Toxic Friendships

Ever had a roommate that drove you to the point of insanity?

No?

Well, prepare to live vicariously through Devon, an incoming college freshman who finds herself in a nightmare roommate experience for those of us who were fortunate enough to have sane roommates (or singles).

This Roommates 2026 analysis delves into a framed narrative about the tensions that can drive roommates who were once friends into enemies. In the present time we meet two roommates who loathe each other to the point of having public screaming matches across campus. When they bring this issue to the Dean of Student Life, she retells the story of the most turbulent roommate situation that she witnessed in her career: Devon and Celeste’s toxic friendship. 

***This review contains spoilers!!!***

Roommates 2026 Analysis | Outgrowing Toxicity

Power Dynamics and Manipulation

Navigating power dynamics in friendship is one of the most complex terrains of adolescence and young adulthood. It’s that time when you’re trying to figure out not only who you are, but how you fit into the world. Roommates is a fitting, humorous illustration of that struggle. 

Devon (played by Adam Sandler’s daughter, Sadie Sandler) meets Celeste (Chloe East) during Freshman Orientation and is immediately intrigued by her bold, open nature. Eager to not repeat her lonely, sidelined high school years, Devon jumps at the chance to make Celeste her roommate.

Throughout their relationship as roommates, Celeste takes advantage of Devon’s passive nature through a series of inconsiderate actions. From watching Tik Toks loudly while Devon’s trying to sleep to having sex in Devon’s bed, Celeste pushes Devon’s limits of grace.

Now you may wonder, why would Devon let Celeste walk all over her to that extent? Here’s the thing – Celeste wasn’t all bad.

She would mix in moments of sweetness with those devilish moments like a Sour Patch kid. One day she would leave a thoughtful birthday gift for Devon, the next she would publicly post something that Devon told her in confidence.

The duality of being so sweet yet so diabolical is what stalled Devon from speaking up more directly to Celeste earlier. Celeste would be just sweet enough to keep Devon under her influence.

As the more passive party, Devon was considered less powerful. She was the one from whom you could borrow money or convince to do your homework. Because Devon subconsciously bought into the belief that she was weak, she allowed Celeste to assert her will over her.

Thankfully, Devon has a loving family who lends her a fresh perspective on just how out of line Celeste’s behavior is and affirms the unease she was feeling towards her. This allowed her the power and courage to stand up to Celeste’s manipulative ways.

Jealousy

It’s so interesting how we always want the things we don’t have although we tend to have everything we need and more. 

Devon is smart, has a loving family, and is well financially supported, but her pain point – not having any real friends – caused her to succumb to things that she ideally wouldn’t do. It made her desperate. 

Celeste is beautiful, popular, and fun. And although she is constantly borrowing money with no intention to pay it back, she actually comes from a wealthy household with an abundance of everything she would ever need in life. Despite this, she has a underlying jealousy and resentment towards Devon because she has the intangible things that Celeste doesn’t: stability and love.

This causes her to lash out in indirect and toxic ways, always looking for an opportunity to take Devon down a peg or lord herself over Devon with her actions.

Her lurking jealousy oozes out in subtle ways. She takes the spotlight when Devon invites her to her family’s Thanksgiving, she sleeps with the boy Devon’s been talking to, and she outs Devon’s beloved brother’s sexuality against his will.

This dynamic isn’t unique to Roommates, but was previously seen in the adorable Pixar film, Luca.

In both films, we see one strong-willed, chaos-stirring friend with a troubled past and the other friend from a loving household who allows themselves to be negatively influenced and taken advantage of for the sake of maintaining this desperately desired friendship. 

Both films end differently but the toxicity stems from the same place, a friendship built on envy rather than on love.

Change Comes From Within

Devon said something that sounded like it was quoted straight out of my diary:

“Middle school, I thought high school would work out. High school, I thought college would work out. It’s never gonna work out. Ever.”

That resonated with me to my core, always thinking that my problems were associated with my environment. Always thinking that once I finally exited my current environment and moved on to next one that my problems would be left behind. 

Like Devon, I learned that those same problems will follow you until the inner work is done.

The best part of this film is arguably seeing how this chaotic roommate experience doesn’t necessarily change Devon’s struggles with finding solid friendships but rather, it changes her.

When Celeste outs Devon’s brother as gay to his high school, Devon inevitably reaches her ultimate breaking point which looks like burning the entire dorm down. Literally.

This lands Devon in jail for some time. And you know what people have in jail – roommates.

Instead of appeasing and cowering at the sight of her intimidating roommate (played by scene-stealing Megan Thee Stallion), Devon asserts her boundaries early on.

Devon is not looking for external approval or permission anymore. She is no longer willing to betray herself for the sake of being able to call someone a friend. Her assurance in herself, her worth, and her newfound confidence allowed her to achieve incredible success even after a brief incarceration.

Now, Devon is unshakeable.

In Conclusion…

Roommates authentically captures the growing pains that come with navigating friendships, learning yourself, and coming into your own. 

The humorous cast brings a lot of familiar faces from SNL (Sarah Sherman, Martin Herlihy) and big names from film and pop culture (Megan Thee Stallion, Nick Kroll, Natasha Lyonne…) and this comedic cast strives to infuse levity within more serious themes (although a few jokes fall flat).

Leading the pack is Sadie Sandler, who exercises her privilege as Adam Sandler’s daughter well, just as her younger sister did with the coming-of-age film You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. It’s admirable how Adam Sandler is giving his children the opportunity to explore age-appropriate themes in their acting pursuits. Both ladies use those opportunities well and deliver quality, character-driven material.

Ultimately, Roommates is a very enjoyable and entertaining watch with the power to resonate with anyone who have shrunk themselves for the sake of holding on to a friendship, who has ever wondered why the same problems follow them into new chapters, or who has had to learn the hard way that the most meaningful validation comes from within.

Rating: 7.8/10

Last Updated on 04/29/2026 by IMO Flicks