'Welcome to 190 Lorimer' Review: Comedy in Close Quarters
- Romey Norton
- Sep 8
- 2 min read
By Romey Norton - September 8, 2025
Life inside a Brooklyn apartment building rarely runs smoothly, and Welcome to 190 Lorimer embraces that chaos with glee. The anthology film places us in a single condo where seven residents share not just walls, but grudges, secrets, and the occasional awkward flirtation. What could feel claustrophobic instead becomes a comedic playground: every argument in the lobby, every knock on the wrong door, every stolen glance fuels another story worth telling.
The writing leans on small, relatable conflicts: neighbours who overstep boundaries, board meetings that spiral into melodrama, misunderstandings that snowball into crises. These are the kinds of scenarios that audiences can relate to, finding them both cringe-worthy and entertaining.
The ensemble cast avoids easy archetypes. Each character has quirks that make them charming and irritating in equal measure, just like real neighbours. You may not want to live next to them, but you’ll happily spend an episode watching their antics. The acting is fun; some performances feel aimed at being an old-style sitcom and others feel like they’re performing for an Oscar nomination. The dialogue is clever but some of the jokes don’t land as well and I think they’re intended to. Everyone is completely committed and for that I give them a lot of respect.
The characters in these apartments include Ian, who’s still living with his mother, and is a realtor who takes women to his clients apartment when they’re away. Sean, who is on a mission to find the building thief. A guy who rents his apartment out online and two Italians come and explore. Evan, the serial dater. A couple co-parenting and more. Vladimir the doorman is a fun random character that adds to the oddity of this building.
Now whilst it’s a very nice and easy to understand premise, the film does have its flaws. The different stories do make the pacing feel disjointed and at times I was wondering what the main, central connection was, and if there was one, (other than them all being in the same apartment block) it wasn’t strong enough. There’s not much drama and conflict, and therefore the comedy needed to be amped up to make this film really stand out.
The ending is sweet, and I wonder if this film could make a good series, so enough time is given to each character for audiences to really invest. Either way, it’s an easy watch, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
Is Welcome to 190 Lorimer worth watching?
For fans who love a good nosey and gossip, yes. Welcome to 190 Lorimer is a fun sitcom about neighbours. Its greatest strength lies in making everyday frustrations feel entertaining, without sanding down the edges that make them believable.
'Welcome to 190 Lorimer' is available to watch on Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, Plex, Future Today, and Vudu.
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