top of page
Writer's picturePopEntertainment

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

Updated: Mar 24, 2020


Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates


MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES (2016)


Starring Zac Efron, Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Stephen Root, Sugar Lyn Beard, Sam Richardson, Stephanie Faracy, Marc Maron, Stephen Root, Alice Wetterlund, Kumail Nanjiani, Mary Holland, Branscombe Richmond, Sally Jackson, Don Dailey, Wendy Williams, Andrea Russett and Jake Johnson.


Screenplay by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendon O’Brien.


Directed by Jake Szymanski.


Distributed by 20th Century Fox.  98 minutes.  Rated R.


With a simple premise, solid writing and a great cast with good chemistry, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is the perfect summer comedy. The movie keeps it light, focusing on how far it can stretch the comedy of this situation, rather than dragging on with family drama and negativity that lurks on the sidelines. Instead, the actors shine as the performances of the supporting cast held their own against its key players in this hilarious flick.


In a film that is reminiscent of comedies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Mike and Dave is still original. Sent on a mission to find dates to their sister’s wedding, Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) find the perfect girls… or so they believe. As it turns out, Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) aren’t as squeaky clean as the boys would have hoped, but they do bring a fun time, and crazy antics follow. These four shine in scenes with each other as well as with the supporting characters.


Stand out performances come from Sam Richardson (starring as the well meaning groom, Eric) and Alice Wetterlund (as Cousin Terry, my personal favorite character). The cast found the game quickly, riffing on each other in several conflict scenes that somehow never seemed too tense because they were just so funny.


One of the reasons this film is so well done despite its somewhat ridiculous nature is that it embraces said ridiculousness. In doing so it becomes all the better, creating a space for the actors to shine.


There are many great and outrageous scenes that come to mind, but perhaps one of the best scenes takes place in the massage parlor between Mike and Dave’s sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) and the masseuse, Keanu (Kumail Nanjiani). I won’t ruin the scene here by explaining it (I am also not sure I could if I tried) but you’ll know it when you see it, through tears of laughter of course.


Overall, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is a very funny movie that can’t be taken too seriously. It’s lighthearted and massively inappropriate, and is a great summer flick to see.


Ally Abramson


Copyright ©2016 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: July 20, 2016.

10 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page