Film

Drunk Bus

Name: Drunk Bus
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2021
Cast: Charlie Tahan, Kara Hayward, Tangaroa Pineapple, Tonatiuh, Will Forte

Buddy comedy

A low-key comedy-drama about a listless college-town bus driver and a charismatic security guard ferrying drunk students through the small hours. It's unglamorous, tender, and funny without trying too hard—the kind of film that finds genuine warmth in the ordinary failures of people trying to figure things out.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like loose, shaggy comedies where small humiliations and tender friendships share the same late-night bus, and you enjoy a lead who makes bad choices with a straight face.

Skip it if you need a plot that tightens and escalates, since this one drifts through nights that repeat in mood more than in story, and its scruffy charm may wear thin.

What it asks of you: Expect a loose, ambling shape of about an hour and forty minutes, with long stretches of idle talk and small moments rather than big set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Paterson2016

Another portrait of quiet competence and deadpan grace: a bus driver-poet finding meaning in routine and observation. Jim Jarmusch's gentleness with small lives will appeal to anyone who loved Drunk Bus's unhurried tempo.

But It moves at a meditative crawl. If you want incident and plot, this isn't it—it's almost entirely about noticing things.

Half Nelson2006

A damaged man and a kid form an unlikely bond, both searching for something real. Ryan Gosling before the myth, doing messy character work. It has the same unvarnished warmth and refusal to sentimentalise struggle.

But The subject matter (teacher's drug use, complex mentorship) lands heavier than Drunk Bus. Some find the handheld camera work distracting.

The Mule2018

Clint Eastwood as a elderly man in transition, paired with another actor for most of the runtime. It finds unexpected grace in late-life rudderlessness and two people learning to understand each other.

But It's sentimental and unabashedly Eastwood-ish. Lacks the indie edge or visual inventiveness some viewers want.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Drunk Bus

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Overnight2015

Both are about strangers thrown together who discover they need each other more than they expected, filmed with a documentary's immediacy and a comedy's refusal to look away from awkwardness.

Absurdist comedy about two couples forming an unlikely friendship over a single evening. Shot handheld and unpolished, it has that same indie chaos and finds genuine tenderness amid terrible decision-making. Same director (Adam Wingard... no—Jen Eston).

But Much weirder and more sexually explicit. The humour is stranger and less grounded. Some will find it unsettling rather than warming.

Moonlight2016

Three chapters of a man's life defined by key relationships and moments of connection. Visually stunning but fundamentally about the small ways people change each other. Shares Drunk Bus's emotional precision.

But Very slow. Some find the elliptical narrative structure frustrating rather than affecting.

First Reformed2018

Paul Schrader finds profound moral struggle in ordinary settings. A film about a man trying to find purpose and connection. Shares Drunk Bus's interest in quiet people bearing weight.

But Darker and more theologically dense. The tone is austere, not wry. Can feel punishing.

The Florida Project2017

Unpolished lives in a budget motel, shot with strange beauty. Sean Baker captures dignity and humour in precarity. Its ensemble warmth and refusal to judge the struggling mirrors Drunk Bus's heart.

But Shot mostly by non-actors. Some dialogue feels improvised in ways that don't always land. Rough around the edges.

Sing Street2016

Scrappy, optimistic, and brimming with music. A film about misfits finding each other and making something. It has Drunk Bus's affectionate view of people trying their best with what they have.

But Considerably more romantic and feel-good. If you want something grittier, this veers toward wish-fulfilment.

Eighth Grade2018

Bo Burnham's unblinking look at a girl nobody's paying attention to. Tender, embarrassing, occasionally hilarious. It finds profound humanity in the overlooked, just as Drunk Bus does.

But Focuses on a thirteen-year-old navigating loneliness and the internet. Some find it uncomfortably intimate or dated already.

C'mon C'mon2021

A black-and-white film about an uncle and nephew learning to listen to each other. Mike Mills makes space for digression and tangent. It's about connection across difference, like Drunk Bus, but more essayistic.

But Very talky and digressive. Deliberately formal in ways that might feel distant. Some find the structure meandering.

Werckmeister Harmonies2001

Both find poetry in the overlooked and everyday. Both are about companionship and watching. Both shot with the patience of a documentary, the heart of a prayer.

A Hungarian film of almost hypnotic slowness about a man and his uncle, set in a small town waiting for something. Shot in long, austere takes. It's meditative and profoundly humanist—about people moving through their days with grace.

But Black and white, subtitled, and very long. Béla Tarr's style is glacial. It requires patience most viewers won't have. No plot in the conventional sense.

Pineapple Express2008

The emotional core is almost identical: two men from different worlds discover they're what each other needed. Both understand that loyalty and laughter matter more than competence.

A stoner action-comedy about a process server and a small-time dealer who stumble into crime together. It has the same spirit of two misfits forming an improbable bond and making things worse through loyalty and stupidity.

But Extremely silly, very violent, and very much a weed movie. If Drunk Bus felt precious or understated to you, this will feel like a different planet.