Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, 2016.
Directed by Jake Szymanski.
Starring Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.
SYNOPSIS:
Two brothers place an online ad to find dates for a wedding and the ad goes viral.
Comedy is tricky to critique and judge, but if there is one constant, it is the ability to assess performances based on skills such as line delivery, tone, body language, and overall dedication to the absurdity on display. Well, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates has four impressive comedic showcases starting with the lately reliable in R-rated comedy situations Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick shedding her more feminist side to play a trashy gold digger, Aubrey Plaza getting in on more raunchy material, and the highlight of the show Adam Devine (he has apparently made somewhat of a name for himself on the Comedy Central show Workaholics) who takes his co-star opportunity and runs with it stealing every scene of the movie he is in.
It is a shame that Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is one of those comedies that gives away all of the best jokes in the commercials and TV spots, but that doesn’t make any of Devine’s shining moments any less golden. Like his brother played by Zac Efron, he is naïve and stupid, but a good-natured person at heart that just loves partying and chasing after girls, both of which are done at the expense of ruining many family gatherings. You almost feel bad for the brothers when they get suckered into choosing two greedy women as their dates to their sister’s vacation wedding in Hawaii, believing the most ridiculous of details.
As mentioned, unfortunately there are only a select few memorable moments saved for the actual movie. The rest of the movie is passable and entertaining with plenty of amusing pieces of dialogue, but viewers will begin waiting anxiously for those moments in the trailers that got them into the auditorium in the first place. That is the most frustrating thing about Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates; it is a tough recommendation to anyone that has seen one of the full-length trailers, despite being wildly ludicrous throughout. Anyone going in blind will most likely laugh themselves silly.
What does work for the comedy is its pacing, as things slowly gets more outlandish as the movie progresses. Naturally, not too much happens towards the beginning as the brothers seek out dates (keep in mind the movie is still funny however), but once they reach Hawaii everything escalates until it boils over into absolute chaos. Sure, that is pretty much predictable, but it works here and never once feels as if the movie is going through the motions thanks to its game cast fully prepared to make the raunchy material generate laughs. Some of the bigger jokes don’t really land, but the ones that do are absolutely hysterical, and once again, they usually involve Adam Devine.
Of course, once everything really hits the fan in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, the script rushes through a ton of unearned character development to wrap itself up quickly. The four leads realize that they are all immature people and must change their behavior to improve their lives; you can see that coming without watching the movie and probably some other cliché notes that the movie hits. None of it is particularly bad or frustrating, but the movie is definitely formulaic in that regard.
Some characters also unfortunately feel like afterthoughts without much given to do. It’s doubtful many viewers will actually care if the wedding gets ruined or not considering that not much emphasis is placed on the couple outside of the bride occasionally. In a movie about brothers bringing dates to their sister’s wedding to keep them in line and to not make a mess of everything, I can’t say I cared when everything did go south. Going back to the rushed ending, none of this certainly helps that case. Also, one semi-important supporting character essentially disappears from the movie and never actually receives comeuppance, which was a little odd and strange.
I fully understand that bro humor isn’t for everyone, and that some people out there will find the very plot of this movie offensive just because it’s about women using men for a vacation, but sometimes you just have to roll with the harsh reality that sometimes, people do shitty things. It’s also worth noting that the movie is very loosely based on a true story. Yes, it is completely exaggerated to hell and back, but that doesn’t stop Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates from being conventional R-rated comedy fun with four leading actors having a blast. Their fun is infectious, and I now hope Adam Devine becomes a white version of Kevin Hart and just gets cast in everything.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – Chief Film Critic of Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews weekly, friend me on Facebook, follow my Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
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