Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates review

MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES:

A WEDDING NIGHT OF RAUNCHY LAUGHS AND HIJINKS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

20^TH CENTURY FOX

Adam DeVine, Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, and Aubrey Plaza in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

            Hollywood has quite a list of wedding comedies in the past, in the 90s we had the Steve Martin comedy, Father of the Bride and then in the 2000s there were raunchier wedding comedies like the third American Pie film, American Wedding, The Hangover, and of course the Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn comedy, Wedding Crashers. Now newcomer Jake Szymanski makes his directorial debut with Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates which follows in the footsteps in the previous raunchy wedding comedies from the past.

            Judging by its trailers and advertising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates looked like a very humorous idea. Two wild party animals need to bring wedding dates to their sister’s wedding after their parents have been fed up with their shit for the past few years and two wild girls pose as “Nice Girls” and pretend to be their dates for a fun vacation.

            None of this is original though, we’ve seen these types of comedies many times before, but what makes the film enjoyable is the performances by the cast, everyone gets a laugh. It’s not a huge staple in comedy that everyone has to see, but it doesn’t need to be, it can just be a dumb, funny movie that gets decent laughs.

            Mike (Adam DeVine-Pitch Perfect, Neighbors, The Intern) and Dave (Zac Efron-Hairspray, 17 Again, Neighbors) have a long history of ruining family events in their attempts to hit on the ladies. From jumping on a trampoline up to a woman to kiss her only to have her fall on the trampoline, bounce up, and hit the ground to blowing up a tent trailer with fireworks.

            Their parents are fed up with their behaviors so they request Mike and Dave bring dates to their sister’s wedding to keep them in check. After several failed dates with some of the craziest women in the city, they appear on The Wendy Williams Show to announce their invitation to two “Lucky Girls” looking for a fun vacation.

            Watching them are two wild girls named Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza-Funny People, Scott Pilgrim VS The World, Safety Not Guaranteed) and Alice (Anna Kendrick-Scott Pilgrim VS The World, The Twilight Saga, Pitch Perfect) who are notorious for partying hard, doing drugs, and getting into trouble, so they’re very naughty. Tatiana and Alice decide to dress up like “Good Girls” and pose as their wedding dates to get a “Vacay” in Hawaii.

            Mike, Dave, Tatiana, and Alice meet and fly to Hawaii for the wedding where all sorts of hijinks and hilarity begin.

            Overall, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is enjoyable and offers plenty of laughs if you know what you’re getting into. I don’t think it’s as funny as something like Wedding Crashers or The Hangover and it probably won’t become a movie that redefines comedy, but it’s dumb comedic fun that can even have a few touching moments.

            My real issue with the movie is that some of the jokes could have been executed better, don’t get me wrong, I got plenty of laughs out of the movie, but I think if they went all-out with the concept and make it into a mean spirited raunch-fest, I’d probably be laughing a lot more, but that’s just me and it didn’t stop me from liking the film.

The cast is very talented and funny, Zac Efron, hot off the Neighbors movies is becoming one of my new favorite comedy actors, he is so funny and he has good chemistry with the rest of the characters, and to think this guy was from High School Musical. Adam DeVine is hilarious especially when his voice gets high-pitched when he screams or freaks out, Anna Kendrick as a drug addict who got divorced during her wedding is funny and tragic at the same time and a very different type of performance for her, and Aubrey Plaza as Tatiana gets a lot of funny lines and she’s sexy as fuck, I love me some funny, sexy women.

If you’re looking for a really clever comedy with lots of laughs, this probably won’t be your movie, you’d be better off with Popstar: Never Stop, Never Stopping. But if you just want some belly laughs and Zac Efron, you’ll get what you want with Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.