Another Round

Verdict

A sharp, bittersweet midlife dramedy that turns a high-concept drinking experiment into a moving study of boredom, masculinity, friendship, and self-reinvention. It’s funny, loose, and often euphoric, but it keeps circling back to the emotional cost of escape.

Best for

• Viewers who like dark comedy with real emotional weight
• Fans of ensemble character studies
• People interested in midlife crisis stories
• Audiences who appreciate restrained European drama with a memorable final stretch

Skip if

• You want a straightforward anti-alcohol message
• You dislike tonal shifts between comedy and tragedy
• You prefer plot-heavy stories over character-driven ones
• You’re looking for a feel-good movie with clean moral resolution

Overview

Another Round starts with a premise that sounds like a dare and plays it with surprising seriousness. Four teachers, each stuck in a rut, test a theory that a little constant intoxication will restore confidence, creativity, and joy. The setup is funny, but the film is really about drift: middle age, stalled ambition, and the fragile rituals men use to feel alive again.

Worth noting

Thomas Vinterberg keeps the tone light on its feet without letting the consequences disappear. The performances, especially Mads Mikkelsen’s, give the film its warmth and ache; these men feel lived-in, flawed, and recognizably ordinary. What makes it linger is the way it refuses an easy lecture. It understands the seduction of excess and the damage it leaves behind.

Bottom line

The final movement is what seals it. Instead of a tidy cautionary ending, the film lands on something stranger and more human: a burst of release, grief, and forward motion all at once. It’s a film about drinking, but even more about the desperate need to feel present in your own life.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Patrick Willems (4.5★) · 14872 likes

Pretty sure this is the wrong takeaway from this movie but I'm gonna start drinking in the morning tomorrow

Karsten (5★) · 7508 likes

take a shot every time they drink

Karsten (4.5★) · 6982 likes

“mads? that’s his name? i like him a lot.” - my mom

Josh Lewis (4★) · 6410 likes

Me and the fellas when the vaccine drops.

tangled up in purple (3.5★) · 5666 likes

they really said do it for science

Themes

midlife crisis, male friendship, alcohol and addiction, workplace malaise, self-destruction, euphoria and regret, identity and reinvention, grief and release

Topics

dark comedy, dramedy, midlife crisis, ensemble drama, alcoholism, male friendship, European cinema, bittersweet, character study, existential