Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates

This review may contain spoilers!

Sometimes a crude comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously can be done extremely well. Iwould give Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates a 7.5/10.

This is a film which had me laughing for pretty much the entire time and not every comedy can boast that these days, the jokes that were in here were pretty clever and the quick snappy dialogue that was exchanged was brilliant. While the plot itself was simple it never really felt stupid, it just had an easy premise for you to follow and as such you were hooked throughout. The cinematography was spectacular for a comedy film, I've been impressed with a couple of comedy films camera work this year but so far I'd say that Mike And Dave probably has the best. The soundtrack for this film is a good blend and really complements a lot of great scenes, I have to say that watching Efron, Devine, Kendrick and Plaza all sing Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It" was a brilliant way to end the film.

Zac Efron, who played Dave Stangle, is a rather charismatic lead in this film; he's really got a handle on being a comedy performer but he still manages to bring a serious quality to his character's ambitions and feelings. Anna Kendrick, who played Alice, plays a bit of an inebriated loose cannon quite well; Kendrick also shows the grief of her character being left at the altar really well and it's something you see her move past over the course of the feature. Aubrey Plaza, who played Tatiana, dominates the screen when she's infront of the camera; Plaza is hilarious and I enjoyed the ongoing joke of her leading Mike on. Stephen Root, who played Burt, did the father figure extremely well in this film; his constant bursts of outrage became increasingly funnier and funnier. Alice Wetterlund, who played Cousin Terry, had a brilliant onscreen rivalry with Devine; her snide remarks were a lot of fun and the idea of her being a rival for Tatiana's affection was quite a unique idea. Kumail Nanjiani, who played Keanu, had an out there scene that some might not find funny but which I thought was hilarious; it's a crude sex joke scene without needing it to be about sex I thought it was hilarious and Nanjiani made it.

However the best performance came from Adam Devine, who played Mike Stangle. Devine is a comedy powerhouse in this film, he has some of the funniest lines and easily some of the best delivery. I think if he keeps going like this he'll be one of the comedy greats like Ferrell or Stiller one day. Devine and Efron have incredible chemistry with one another onscreen, it's easy to see them as brothers and it only serves to make the banter between the two of them all the more funny.

As much as I can laud how funny this film was despite it's crudeness there were a few scenes that pushed the envelope a bit, not every joke landed and sometimes jokes got taken a bit far. Some subplots within the film didn't get given enough attention to feel fully fleshed out, the Terry/Mike feud was very hastily established for example. I also felt like the editing was a bit slow, this comedy moved fast when it came to the story but the cuts didn't follow suit at all.

Stephanie Faracy, who played Rosie, didn't really have any screen presence in this film; her role as Mum didn't seem important and her performance was overshadowed by Root's. Sugar Lyn Beard, who played Jeanie Stangle, had a character that was a bit too manic and all over the place to be believable; her sweet and charming introduction became someone who had an orgasm from a massage and who took drugs on their wedding night so she was a bit out there. Sam Richardson, who played Eric, was a really boring character; Richardson didn't really have a funny edge to his character so he just became another performer sternly gazing at Efron and Devine. Lavell Crawford, who played Keith, was probably the most forgettable character of the film; he did not seem like the best man of the wedding nor did he even interact with Richardson all that much. Mary Holland, who played Becky, gave such a stiff performance it became cringeworthy; bad enough she had no chemistry with Beard but she didn't even seem necessary to the story.