Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates : Movie Review


Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) - Movie Poster
"Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates" is so close to working one can taste it. When the film keys into a certain groove, it can be uproarious. These comic highlights are just that, though, interspersed between material that tries too hard, underestimates the audience's intelligence, and ultimately falls flat. Tonally, the picture is erratic, weaving between broad physical humor, sharp-tongued bon mots, and dramatic soul-searching. The screenplay by writing partners Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O'Brien (2016's "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising") is uneven, too often relying upon unctuous, worn-out conventions and dumbed-down plotting. It is first-time feature director Jake Szymanski, however, who appears to be the biggest offender. Just when the film should be settling down to treat the characters with a softer, more humane touch, he chooses to play to the rafters with strained, over-the-top histrionics. It is a shame, because most of the actors are clearly game, out to make something better than what has shown up on the screen.


Mike (Adam DeVine) and Dave Stangle (Zac Efron) are twenty-something screw-ups who, no matter how hard they try (not very), always seem to destroy any important family gathering they attend. With sister Jeanie's (Sugar Lyn Beard) destination wedding approaching, parents Burt (Stephen Root) and Rosie (Stephanie Faracy) ask that they find presentable young ladies to bring to the Hawaii nuptials. Naturally, Mike and Dave turn to Craigslist with this unusual proposal, capturing unanticipated media attention (they are guests on "The Wendy Williams Show") but attracting all the wrong kind of women in the process. Fresh out of jobs and tempted by the allure of a paid island paradise vacation, wild best friends Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) conspire to play the parts of responsible, sweet-natured dream women—Alice as a hedge fund executive, Tatiana as an elementary school teacher. Mike and Dave buy into their charade without question, putting into motion a week in Oahu the four of them—and the entire wedding party—won't soon forget.


See Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com. for full review

Author : Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com.