Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates Review

Director: Jake Szymanski

Starring: Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Sugar Lyn Beard, Sam Richardson

The Overview

Two hard-partying brothers place an online ad to find the perfect dates for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves out-hustled by an uncontrollable duo. (Source: IMDb) 

The Good

The main draw of this summer comedy is the cast, with all 4 of the main cast members proven and popular in their previous movies. Indeed, it is the cast which make this film and they are all on top form. 

Aubrey Plaza in particular is an absolutely riot, seemingly born to play this role! Anna Kendrick is the quieter one comparatively, sweet but still with an edge. Zac Efron plays the loveable idiot, and Adam Devine the less loveable and more idiotic brother. The latter was my least favourite out of the quartet, but was still very watchable. 

It’s refreshing to see genuinely funny women, being the starring roles in a comedy genre which is so often dominated my men, and this was the real highlight for me, even if it isn’t necessarily as funny as it promised to be. 

The Bad

Comedy is a very subjective thing, and maybe it’s just me, but I found this film pretty unfunny. That’s not to say I didn’t laugh, but it was more of a chuckle than a full on belly laugh. 

The intial promise offered so much, but delivered so little. If anything it should have been more outrageous, more riotous, and pushed the comedy further. 

It’s such a big problem with modern comedies, gross-out comedies in particular. This one is slightly smarter than your average gross-out, but like so many, it forgets it can be funny in other ways as well. It also shoehorns in an attempt at having a heart and a message to takeaway; something I’d be ok with if it fitted nicely into the film, but in this case it felt forced. 

The Verdict

I saw this movie and you should too. Look, it’s not the best movie you’re going to see, but you’re guaranteed some laughs, and the performances are great. You’ll forget about it instantly, but you won’t feel like you’ve wasted your time watching it. 

Agree with everything I’ve said, or am I a totally misguided idiot who has got it all wrong? Let me know in the comments below!