Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Pretty Good

Lack of good storyline.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Zac efron looks amazing as always, that's about it. This movie is probably Anna Kendrick's worst film. Adam Devine is a good actor but all the actors should not have done this film., just absolutely stupid.

Love comedy, there are some great ones out there from every decade and with all kinds of humour (whether it's sophisticated, witty, camp, satirical, dark or vulgar). Silly comedy can be done well, providing it doesn't go overboard. Low-brow comedy is not always done badly, though usually it's my least favourite type of comedy.'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' just didn't do it for me. Can totally understand the mixed critical and audience reaction, especially the many misgivings people have of the film. Seeing as it was based on a true story and have liked some of Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron's other stuff (even if not a huge fan of either), 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding' had potential to be a halfway decent film. It actually started out on a semi-promising note, with a few sporadically semi-amusing moments, a good set up and it was when the humour and performances didn't go overboard. Then it started to fall apart from the ATV scene and took a turn for the weird halfway through.There are a few good things. The two best performances come from Plaza (though some are going to disagree with this) and Efron. Plaza is in a samey sort of role, but the deadpan nature of it suits her well (though she is best known to me for her work in Seasons 11 and 12 of 'Criminal Minds' as one of the show's best unsubs), the muted indifference and broad farce that critics have picked up on fits with the material and she plays it perfectly.Efron's role is bland, but he does play him straight with a likable charm that was a refreshing counter-balance with the over-acting from most of the rest of the cast. Some of the scenery looks good.However, a lot doesn't work. Kendrick just doesn't fit the material, being better known and more suited to girl-next-door roles, her role requires a broader approach and she is too bland in it and over-compensates in the latter parts of the film. Most of the rest of the cast are underused, and consist of a strange mix of disinterested and overdone. Worst of all are Adam Devine and Sugar Lynn Beard. Devine tries far too hard and comes over as insufferably irritating, especially in the facial expressions and the shouting. Beard constantly sounds like she is on helium and her "acting" in the massage scene especially is embarrassing. The chemistry between the actors just isn't there, due to the overacting and mish-mash of acting styles.Can sort of forgive the predictability of the story (the speaker system scene could be seen coming from miles away), can't forgive how disjointed and random it's structured and how everything ends so too-conveniently and resolved in such a hasty manner. The characters may have been intended to be shallow and juvenile, the film however takes this to extremes and makes them mostly without any likable or interesting qualities, only annoying. The only halfway likable character is Dave and he is also bland in development.Soundtrack is forgettable at best and the direction is barely existent. 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' even fails in making Hawaii, one of the world's most beautiful places, look good with some of it looking very straight-to-video quality. A big dishonourable mention in this regard is in the ATV scene, which contains some of the cheapest and worst looking photography and editing for any film seen in any film recently.Biggest problem with 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' is that a vast majority of the time it just isn't funny. A few semi-amusing moments to start with but as said from the ATV scene onward it falls apart where things become increasingly witless and vulgar to the point of being stretched to breaking point. The massage (a particularly distasteful scene that went on too long and should have been cut), sauna, ecstasy and argument in the hotel room scenes induce a mega cringe-factor especially. Too many scenes are also dragged out where severely affects the timing which comes over as limp and the jokes become unfunny consequently.Dialogue has far too much of a vulgar edge to the point a lot of it falls into uncomfortable distaste. Things seemed to take a turn for the downright weird halfway through, with some attempts at seriousness when there are various revelations made that are executed in a forced and seen from a mile off way.In summary, a few decent things are not enough to save a poorly done film on most levels. 3/10 Bethany Cox

This seems to be a standard for modern comedy: good-looking cast, forced jokes and terrible acting. This seems to have been written and scripted in 2 hours at best. I haven't laughed once. Jokes are classic, modern, everything but funny jokes. They attempt a joke every single scene. Jokes are being forced into the dialog. Continuous usage of similar jokes in the same scenes are failure as well. Acting is pretty terrible, I mean comedies have never been known for a top notch acting, but still this is just rubbish. It seems like modern comedy actors are chosen only by their looks. To conclude, I would never suggest someone to check this movie, it is the worst thing ever. Classic piece of commercial society.

This is a typical Sunday lazy day brainless comedy. It's a fun little story, but that's about it. There is nothing outstanding, but nor is there anything terrible in the making of this movie. It probably wont even be memorable. The leads were appropriately cast with Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza. Clearly performances that don't require any special talent, but nevertheless kept this film fun. It's a 7/10 from me