MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES
(director: Jake Szymanski; screenwriters: Andrew Jay Cohen, Brendan O’Brien; inspired by the life stories of Mike Stangle and Dave Stangle; cinematographer: Matthew Clark; editors: Jonathan Schwartz, Lee Haxall; music: Jeff Cardoni; cast: Zac Efron (Dave Stangle), Anna Kendrick (Alice), Adam Devine (Mikr Stangle), Aubrey Plaza (Tatiana), Stephen Root (Burt), Sam Richardson (Eric, the groom), Sugar Lyn Beard (Jeanie Stangle), Eugene Cordero (Kai – Hotel Manager), Lavell Crawford (Keith), Stephanie Faracy (Rosie), Mary Holland (Becky), Marc Maron (Randy), Kumail Nanjiani (Keanu), Bob Turton (Bob / Lauralie), Alice Wetterlund(Cousin Terry); Runtime: 98; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Jonathan Levine; Fox; 2016)
“It’s not for all tastes (certainly not mine), but for those who find such raunchy comedies funny this one is at least well-executed.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Jake Szymanski(“7 Days in Hell”/”Women in Business”) helms this dumb comedy meant to make you cringe. It’s written by Andrew Jay Cohen, Brendan O’Brien and is inspired by the life stories of Mike Stangle and Dave Stangle. Dave and Mike Stangle (Zac Efron & Adam Devine) are two wild and crazy brothers, who are roomies and liquor salesmen.
The twentysomething immature man-children need dates for their younger sister Jeani’s (Sugar Lyn Beard) wedding in Hawaii. Through running an ad on Craigslist, that goes viral on the Internet, they connect with wild and crazy roomies Alice and Tatiana (Anna Kendrick & Aubrey Plaza). The unemployed ladies pretend to be good girls and accept their offer of an all-expenses paid trip to be their dates in Hawaii. Tatiana poses as a school teacher and Alice poses as a Wall Street broker, but in Hawaii the girls show their true colors and cut loose.
It closely follows along the formulaic path for such modern-day crass comedies, whereby by the end the misfits all tamely redeem themselves and everything turns out just peachy (that is if you really care).Alice Wetterlund is the brothers’ lusty leasbian cousin Terry, Kumail Nanjiani is the masseur with the blissful touch and Sam Richardson is the dull black groom. It’s not for all tastes (certainly not mine), but for those who find such raunchy comedies funny this one is at least well-executed.
REVIEWED ON 6/7/2017 GRADE: C+ https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/