Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - Review

   The raunchy comedy is a frequent endeavor for Hollywood these days, placing characters into any awkward situation they can conjure up.  They have a very small window to succeed without crossing the line into eye-rolling territory and ultimately becoming unfunny. While Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates features a large number of comedic and truly funny moments, it toes that line of raunchy comedies.

   Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave Stangle (Zac Efron) are young, adventurous, fun-loving brothers who tend to get out of control at family gatherings. When their sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) reveals her Hawaiian wedding plans, the rest of the clan insists that they both bring respectable dates. After placing an ad on Craigslist, the siblings decide to pick Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick), two charming and seemingly normal waitresses. Once they arrive on the island, however, Mike and Dave realize that their companions are ready to get wild and party hard.

   As with most comedies, the story of the film is largely a set-up for the jokes. It’s a relatively simple set up that equals a perfect scenario for a comedy, largely making the film a collection of awkward situations. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is not unique or terribly original but the comedic timing and chemistry between the four leads allows the movie to avoid becoming a run of the mill comedy.

   The pairings of the film are what really sell it in the end. Efron and Devine as the Stangle brothers work so well with each other that despite them looking nothing like one another they feel like brothers. They’re mentality and game planning work, but they can often feel like unrealistic human beings. The same could be said for the two ladies, as even though they work amazingly well together and with their male partners, they feel like comedy archetypes completely. The characters get some development near the end and actually feel more endearing but until then it’s clear these are characters with traits specific for comedic moments.

   Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is pretty fast paced comedy, with jokes coming frequently and filling most of the hour and a half runtime. While there a great deal of jokes that work perfectly, some falter as they continue for too long and either become too cartoony or unbelievable in some way. But the jokes that do work are gut busting and certainly enjoyable.

Overall, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is a fun comedy but not anything groundbreaking in any way. It’s a typical wedding comedy that features some truly gifted comedic actors and great chemistry between all four of the main cast members. The film will certainly get a laugh from it’s many jokes, but the comedy that fails makes this film just a decent film instead of good or even great.

Grade: (6.5/10)

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