We Streamed Among Friends (1998) on Cocoflix – Full Watch Test

Setting the Scene: A Whistle-Stop Tour of 'Money and Charm'

“Among Friends” has a curious listing on your Cocoflix queue. It’s a 1998 drama/family series and only lasts a total of 12 minutes. The description of “Among Friends” is equally brief and offers that Miklós shows the audience the worlds of Money and Charm. With descriptions that brief, one is not expecting a condensed version of Game of Thrones, but rather something more pointed, maybe a pilot that never aired or an example of early 21st century’s short form television. The first reaction was how much of the world building could be achieved in 12 minutes and around these concepts. The series has actors Zoltán Szőke, Izabella Varga, and Virág Pásztor who may bring a nostalgic feeling to those who remember 90s Central European television. The series is meant to offer a taste of how their social structures and outlooks of aspiration and social interaction was in this specific time and place. Anyone expecting this series to satisfy their quest for an extended narrative will likely be disappointed, as it isn’t meant to keep you entranced for too long, but will offer to show you a thing or two.

The Twelve-Minute Watch Test: Pacing and Engagement

Playing Among Friends across different devices shows how it is an aggressively short-form experience. It is only 12 minutes long on an Android phone. The most you can say about the length is that it covers a short trip. I suggest it fills the time from the line at the coffee shop, not a full bus ride. The pace is so fast that it skips developing a slow-burning plot or extensive characters. We never really get to know anything about the intricate world that it tries to build because it skips everything. It also gets to the point of having no plot length so quickly that I thought the rest of the episodes would be longer. I found that it was almost impossible to stay interested in the story because it moved so quickly, ending before a lot of the things it set up had a chance to be touched upon. For most people, the second screen distraction was little, because again, the plot is so fast that it ended before people got to the temptation to second screen. One the PC, it felt even more ephemeral than it did on the different device. The "Series" name for the short videos suggests that a lot of supporting materials and side-stories will eventually be made, which frustrates me even more knowing how quickly the short story ended.

What Impressed (and Annoyed) This Reviewer

Among Friends stood out to me as an extremely brief and appealing premise. While exploring the themes of "Money and Charm" in a short form drama/family series in 1998 is certainly interesting, I think it also demonstrates the authors' attempt to highlight a captivating snapshot of social commentary. The short film was clearly made on a budget and there is some wiggle room for improvement on the production side, but a surprising amount of the film is legible today. The cast conveys a lot with a little, and I especially enjoyed watching Zoltán Szőke's performance in this. However, the tradeoff for the brevity is that the film ends up being extremely frustrating. There is little time to develop the premise, so the credits start rolling long before you learn anything at all. The film seems to leave off the main plot point of the story, and, disappointingly, the film doesn't have time to actually deliver on its premise, and as a result, leaves the audience with disproportionate closure compared to the disproportionate questions it leaves you with. As demonstrated by the audience ratings, most people left feeling equally unsatisfied.

Screen Suitability: Phone First, Others If You Must

Given its 12-minute runtime, “Among Friends” was clearly designed as a phone-centric experience. I can see this being perfectly suited for those small moments of downtime where you want something to watch and don’t have the mental space available or the remaining time needed to commit to watching something longer. There are a limited amount of visuals and having a phone helps you commit to less. I felt it was less appropriate to watch it on my laptop. It feels like a waste of time to open up the browser on your laptop to watch it for 12 minutes and navigate to the app, Cocoflix, when you could have just watched it easier on your phone. Watching this on your TV? Don’t even think about it. With the runtime at just 12 minutes and your TV being a giant screen, it doesn’t make sense to watch this on the biggest screen in your house. It’s best to stick with watching this on your phone as it is a small screen experience and it is a movie that was released in 1998.

The Quick-Fire Verdict: A Historical Appetizer

While it may not be the must-watch series on Cocoflix that most expect when they sign up, “Among Friends” is still a series that can be appreciated in the context of historical television programming or appreciated by those who have a particular interest in the 90s films and television programming of Central Europe. “Among Friends” exemplifies the highest level of organization and efficiency in the television programming world. Each episode is thirteen and a half minutes long and as such there are no commitment concerns. This series, however, runs into trouble right before it begins as the viewer is left feeling as though the story is more promising and is more engrossing than the series actually provided. If you're looking for an interesting plot to keep you entertained for a few hours, you're better off looking elsewhere. This series is a pleasant way to kill a few minutes and lose your thoughts, but don't expect something that will keep you entertained for a few hours like a true cinematic experience.