5 ideas about a movie: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Hello!

Welcome to another movie review. This time, we’re looking at Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. As you have probably noticed from the title of the post, I’m doing the short version of the review, because I never really have a lot to say about a comedy.

IMDb summary: Two hard-partying brothers place an online ad to find the perfect dates for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves out-hustled by the uncontrollable duo.

1. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is a film, sorta inspired by true events (at least it claims to be), written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, who have previously written both Neighbors films, which also star Efron. I did enjoy the movie’s script. The story was a bit cliche, but funny enough to be enjoyable. Some jokes landed, some didn’t. I also liked the self-awareness that the film had with that Wedding Crashers reference. As a cinephile, I also appreciated that Jurassic Park plug. The whole cousin subplot felt a bit awkward. The theme behind the comedy was kinda basic – how to deal with life? – but the picture’s message was nice. All of the ideas about weddings also appealed to me, since my childhood friends are starting to get married, while I still feel like a kid. The only thing that really annoyed me was that whole thing with ‘I’m a strong independent women etc’. I didn’t understand whether they were serious or whether they were making fun of feminazis.
2. Mike and Dave film was directed by Jake Szymanski, who is quite an unknown director to me. He has mostly done shorts and TV shows. I liked what he did with this movie for the most part. My few gripes were the fact that the levels of craziness, when it came to the characters, seemed a bit inconsistent. Also, that ending musical number was a bit much. I don’t think that because he had actors who can sing (Efron from HSM; DeVine and Kendrick from Pitch Perfect), he needed to use them. The bloopers during the credits nicely tied the film and showed how much improvisation all the actors did. The picture was genuinely funny and I laughed out loud a couple of time.
3. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, like the recent comedies Central Intelligence, The Nice Guys and 21+22 Jump Street, had a duo of guys in the leads, played by Zac Efron and Adam DeVine. Both of them did a good job. Their chemistry, as well as the comedic timing, were great. Efron played his usual role – a kinda crazy guy who is actually nice and sweet inside. DeVine’s role wasn’t ground-breaking either. I feel like I have seen him in that role previously. Efron has really established himself a career as a comedian. After starring in teen musicals, like HSM and Hairspray, Efron appeared in a few indie-ish films, like Charlie St.Cloud and The Paperboy. Since 2014, he has consistently appeared in succesful(-ish) comedies like That Awkward Moment, Neighbors 1+2, We Are Your Friends and Dirty Grandpa. He also has a Baywatch movie coming up. DeVine is a bit less accomplished: he has done the Pitch Perfect films, had a small role in The Intern and is voicing a character in the upcoming Sausage Party.
4. The two female leads of the film were played by Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza. Their performances were okay for the roles that they had. As far as I know, Kendrick never really plays crazy girls, so it was nice to see her trying something different, although underneath, her character was a good girl. Aubrey Plaza played her usual slutty type of a character, like in Dirty Grandpa and The To Do List. Plaza has also starred in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, while Kendrick had roles in Pitch Perfect 1+2, and awards contender Cake and Into the Woods.
5. In summary, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates was an enjoyable comedy – a simple summer flick. It wasn’t ground-breaking and is not a must watch, but if you do choose to see it, you will definitely have at least a pleasant time.

Rate: 3.5/5

Trailer: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates