In “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”, hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates to their sister’s wedding (L-R) Burt (Stephen Root), Rosie (Stephanie Faracy), Eric (seated, Sam Richardson), Keith (Lavell Crawford), Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza), Mike (Devine) and Dave (Efron), Alice (Anna Kendrick), Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) and Cousin Terry (Alice Wetterlund) (Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox).
Don’t Save the Date
1/2
Shade throwing aside, Zac Efron knows his strengths.
Appealing to the opposite sex has made him millions of dollars throughout his young career.
Appealing to true movie aficionados has proved more difficult.
While he has had some hits like the “Neighbors” franchise, he has had his share of misses as well.
“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” is one of those big misses and moviegoers should not save the date of this movie release.
In “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” Dave (Zac Efron) and Mike Stangle (Adam Devine) are blood brothers but act more like frat brothers.
They are immature.
They are misogynistic.
And they are an utter embarrassment to their parents and sister.
Their tomfoolery seems to ruin every family function.
And for some strange reason, they have yet to outgrow their foolishness.
So when their sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) begins preparing for her wedding to Eric (Sam Richardson), Mr. and Mrs. Stangle force their two man-child sons to bring nice girls as their dates to the destination wedding in Hawai’i.
However, when they put up an advertisement online for dates, every “thirsty” woman in America applies for the coveted position.
And in order to win a free trip, vixens pretend to be virtuous women so that they can score an all expense paid trip to paradise via Mike and Dave.
Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) desperately want that trip, especially since Alice’s fiancée left her standing at the altar humiliated and unmarried.
Nice girls they are not.
Con artists more accurately describe the duo.
Nevertheless, their con works and they immediately impress the Stangles who for once are happy with their sons choice in women.
Unfortunately, Alice and Tatiana are more immature than Dave and Mike once their façade wears off.
Their hearts are in the right place, but their methods are totally off.
They almost ruin the wedding on several occasions with their choices like ATV rides and inappropriate massages that border on infidelity.
Tatiana proves that she will do just about anything to get what she wants even being fondled by Cousin Terry (Alice Wetterlund) in order to get free back stage passes to the Rihanna concert.
Unfortunately for “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” very few of their shenanigans are funny, they are just silly.
Sometimes, slapstick, frat house comedy works.
Movies like “The Hangover,” “American Pie” and “Think Like a Man” rode simplicity to straight comedy gold.
“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” comes nowhere close to those standard bearers.
In the final scene of “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” the girls join the Stangle brothers for a little song and dance.
It would have been worth the price of admission to see Kendrick sing for 98 minutes instead of the film (see her cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” with Justin Timberlake on YouTube).
“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” also wasted the comedic talents of Lavell Crawford, who was not allowed to do his thing despite the opportunity.
Crawford is the funniest cat in the film, but moviegoers will not get to see his skill on display at all.
The filmmakers obviously did not know the strength of their cast.
Although the movie revolves around Efron and Devine, their talents are not the strength of the movie.
Unfortunately, they missed on opportunity to let the film’s strength, Crawford, show his full potential.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
