American men are lonely. Did Andrew McCarthy, recovering loner, find a cure?

Andrew McCarthy attends the premiere of “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2024.

(Charles Sykes / Invision / Associated Press)

Early on in Andrew McCarthy’s latest travelogue, “Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America,” a scene unfolds in which the actor-turned-bestselling author pays an announced visit to Seve (nickname for “Stephen”), a lifelong friend suffering from chronic back pain that’s rendered him unable to get out much. Seve has let the detritus of life pile up around him — literally — with delivery packages and plastic-wrapped clothes overrunning his tiny Baltimore apartment. McCarthy, who’s road-tripped from his home in New York City, proceeds cautiously, stepping gently around the mess and breaking down boxes. It’s a fragile moment, if an uncompromising one, revealing the ways in which many of us have the tendency to sometimes hide the rawest, most shameful facets of our deepest selves from those who know and love them best.

By Malina Saval , March 25, 20263 AM PT