Flash Movie Review: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Weddings bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. What is supposed to be a happy occasion can dissolve into a grudge match between family members or guests. A friend of mine recently told me about a wedding they attended for one of their family members. Evidently there is a cousin who becomes belligerent after having a few drinks. As I was listening to this story I quickly came to the conclusion this cousin was essentially a bully. He wound up trying to pick a fight with a cousin from the bride’s side for no apparent reason; however, that cousin was a black belt in the martial arts. As soon as the drunken bully threw the first punch he was immediately thrown onto his back by the martial arts expert. Family members from both sides rushed to the scene, picked up the cousin from the floor and took him away. That type of entertainment I could do without at a wedding; my experiences have been less dramatic at the weddings I have attended. What I have found at weddings are relatives who feel it is appropriate to ask, not only the bride and groom but other family members both married and single, personal questions about when they will have children or when will they settle down and get married. Or better yet, they will go up to a single person and ask them why they are not married yet as if something is wrong with being single. Oh I just remembered this one wedding I went to where the parents of both the bride and groom hated each other and did not hide their feelings about it to anyone. This is why I said what I said earlier about weddings and the people who attend them. I could easily understand the concerns the family had in this comedy. THE parents of hard partying brothers Dave and Mike Stangle, played by Zac Efron (Neighbors franchise, The Lucky One) and Adam Devine (The Intern, Pitch Perfect franchise), demanded their sons each bring a date to their sister’s wedding to keep them in check from riling each other up. The brothers felt they could find respectable girls with an online ad. Inspired by a true story this comedy came with some strong language. The other thing it came with was a cast that was skilled in comedic timing. Along with Zac and Adam there was Anna Kendrick (Into the Woods, Cake) as Alice and Aubrey Plaza (Dirty Grandpa, Safety Not Guaranteed) as Tatiana. These two women were exceptional in their comedic abilities. There were some laugh out loud moments in this adventure romance but after a while the script turned into a series of crazy events that did not offer anything new for the viewer. If it was not for the cast performing so well, I probably would have been bored through parts of this film. Outrageous, loony with poor judgments and lots of alcohol; some of you may be grateful you did not get an invite to this wedding.
2 ½ stars
Posted on July 13, 2016, in Comedy and tagged 2 1/2 stars, adam devine, adventure, anna kendrick, aubrey plaza, comedy, inspired by a true story, romance, wedding, zac efron. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Without batting an eye at it I’m passing this one up simply because it’s just not my scene and movies like this I find to be the way of the 80’s dodo and they don’t have that campy feel of the 80’s either. Sure for today’s youth it will work but I guess I can’t get past the tv commercial for it to be on my no thanks radar! But as always I enjoyed your review of it!
Thank you for your comments and consider yourself extra lucky since the commercials do not show the strong language used throughout the film.
I’m no stranger to that, dad was a truck driver for 47 years LoL, but still…. gratuitous use of profanity makes the movie tasteless and ridiculous and the shock factor is nil. Yeah I’ll keep my ticket money for something worth spending it on lol
Thanks for telling me.
I think this would be a fun movie to watch with my daughter! Probably not until on Netflix or rental, though.
Mmm, how old is she again? There are sexual situations besides the strong language.
She is 17 and of R-rated age. Believe me she’ll be OK with it, thanks!
Okay, thanks for telling me.
I may just rent this one but glad some of the comedic timing worked and several humorous situations. Thanks for the honest review. I hated (awhile ago) The Neighbors. There was so much wrong with it. Hope you liked this one a little better?
Oh yeah I liked this better than Neighbors, but I will say Zac is really finding his comedic groove. Thanks for the comments.