I haven’t always been the biggest fan of comedies growing up. For starters, I’m extremely picky about the kind that I watch and if it doesn’t have me laughing within the first ten minutes, I tune out and turn the movie off. A lot of comedies these days are what I would call “dumb” comedy movies like “Hot Rod” or the “Scary Movie” series. As kids, movies like that were fine but as I’ve gotten older I find that I don’t find films like that appealing anymore so I tend to stay away from the comedy genre. Lately though, I feel like comedy, especially R-rated comedy, has started to have a major resurgence over the past few years, and “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” is no exception to that. While it may not be the funniest movie I’ve ever seen, it still provides a decent amount of laughs with a decent amount of heart behind it to keep you entertained.
“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” opens up by introducing us to two brothers, Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (an exceptional Zac Efron) Stangle, who have made names for themselves as the family embarrassments. When their sister Jeanie (Stephanie Beard) gets engaged and her wedding rapidly approaches, the two boys are told that if they want to attend the wedding, they each must bring a date who will force them to stay in check and not screw anything up. Not wanting to let their sister down, the two brothers post an ad on Craigslist asking to find two “nice” girls to bring to their sister’s wedding in Hawaii. When they get a response from best friends Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick), two girls who appear to be “nice, normal girls,” the brothers are shocked to discover that the two girls are just as wild—if not even more wild—than they are and must scramble to gain control of their dates before they ruin the entire wedding.
It may not sound like the most exciting plot, but “Mike and Dave” is a rather well-made and funny movie that is largely carried by its cast, which is why this movie works so well. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its faults. For me, the biggest problem with this film was actually with the character Mike, more specifically with the performance that was given by Adam Devine. I’ll be honest, I’m just not a fan of Devine and haven’t been ever since I first saw him in “Pitch Perfect.” I don’t really find him all that funny and I think he has a huge tendency to over act everything he does. He’s a lot like Will Ferrell in the sense that his acting consists of screaming every line he has and then dramatically using his body to express every emotion he’s feeling. It’s not funny; it’s annoying and it could have easily ruined the movie, but luckily for him (and us) he never shares a scene alone and is always acting alongside someone else who actually knows how to act and deliver a good comedic performance without having to over exaggerate it. The old saying “less is more” comes to mind when I think of him and I feel he really should take some time to evaluate his performances and find a different approach. We already have one Will Ferrell; we don’t need another one.
Another thing that didn’t quite work for the movie was that some of the jokes ended up being a little flat and didn’t land quite like the writers hoped they would. There is one particularly long scene which takes place in a spa that was supposed to be funny but ends up coming off as awkward and also kind of gross. I don’t mind dirty comedies or dirty scenes, especially when they’re funny but, when they’re simply being dirty for the sake of trying to shock us they end up coming off as just uncomfortable and not very funny at all, which is what that scene ended up being. I wish the writers would have taken a little more time to flesh out their jokes and remove one or two scenes that didn’t quite feel like they fit and were simply tailored to make the movie longer than it needed to be.
That being said, not all the jokes are bad, and the ones that work end up being spot on and the movie actually pulls a good number of laughs from you. There were multiple times throughout this movie where I found myself laughing out loud. As funny as the jokes were, the best (and funniest) thing about this movie is the rest of the cast minus Devine of course. Both women, Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick really have a knack for comedy and deliver their lines perfectly. Some of their lines aren’t even all that funny but their delivery of them somehow makes them work. I’ve been a fan of Kendrick for quite some time and it was nice to see her play the “rough” girl for once and not look as glamorous as she usually does. I’ve never seen any of Aubrey Plaza’s work before this but I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes out for her in the future.
If I had to pick one particularly thing that made this movie so great, it would have to be Zac Efron's performance. I know, that probably sounds really surprising, considering this is the same guy who starred in three “High School Musical” films, but Efron has come a long way since his days of singing in the choir room. The older he’s gotten and the more he’s distanced himself from the Disney franchise, the better his career and talent has become. From his delivery to his physical comedy, he really is the true star of this film and carries the entire film on his shoulders. It’s funny to think that when his career started he was just a young kid we all knew was only getting roles because he knew how to sing and was a good looking guy to look at. Today though, he’s still a guy who is far too good looking to be considered fair but, he actually has a lot of talent and is really making a name for himself.
Overall, “Mike and Dave” isn’t going to be the funniest movie you’ll ever see. It has a few too many jokes that don’t quite work and is just a little too long. If you can get past those minor flaws though, I think you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised by how much you actually enjoyed this movie. The Bottom Line, if you’re looking for an escape from the busyness that is summer blockbusters, “Mike and Dave” is a movie guaranteed to make you laugh, and may even surprise you with a hint of emotion that’ll pull at your heart strings ever so slightly.
