1658. Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Starring: Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick

Director: Jake Szymanski

Running Time: 98 mins

Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates is an American film about two brothers with a reputation for excessive partying who are told to bring nice girls as dates to their sister’s wedding. However, after two women decide to chance upon the opportunity by pretending to be nice, the entire situation quickly gets even more out of hand.

This is a pretty underwhelming movie. I definitely didn’t go into it with many expectations, but I was still disappointed at how dull and unfunny it was from start to finish. Fortunately, it’s not a painful watch, and there are a couple of chuckles here and there, as well as a few decent performances, but otherwise, this is nothing more than your run-of-the-mill comedy movie.

However, let’s start on the bright side, with the performances. Although the cast aren’t given any particularly interesting characters or dialogue to work with, the likes of Zac Efron, Adam Devine and Anna Kendrick shine once more. Despite their idiotic and thin characters, they’re generally surprisingly entertaining to watch, and alongside some supporting players, especially (the woman who played the bride), they help to make this film a much more bearable watch.

Secondly, not all the jokes are bad. On the whole, I wasn’t laughing much in this movie, but there are undoubtedly a few moments that got a little chuckle out of me. I definitely wanted a whole lot more given that this is meant to be a comedy, but a few of the smaller, less brash gags that actually landed well were yet another little detail that helped me to not despise this film to bits.

Apart from all that, however, Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates just isn’t a good movie. The biggest issue is undoubtedly its sense of humour, which seems too content to stick with loud, preposterous and cantankerous slapstick from start to finish. Yes, there are those few brief moments of joy, but that’s not the case for most of the duration. If you’re 14 years old, then you may have a bit more fun with the party-centric comedy here, but for the rest of us, it’s just not up to scratch, and doesn’t come anywhere near enough making you burst out laughing.

Another big problem with the movie is its characters. Yes, this is a stupid comedy, and I’m definitely not expecting deep, complex personalities to drive the story. However, all of the characters in this movie, including the ones that are performed relatively well, are absolutely tedious. Insanely thin, and completely predictable, there’s nobody to really gravitate towards in this film.

The two leading ladies play complete idiots, and the two lead men play guys with barely any personality at all. Granted, they’re not as annoying as a result, but in general, they’re very boring, and don’t help in any way to get you more engaged in the story at hand.

Overall, whilst I got pretty much what I expected from Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates, I was still pretty disappointed. There are a few good chuckles here and there, and the majority of the main cast do their best to make for an entertaining watch, but on the whole, this is a dull, unfunny and totally predictable comedy, and that’s why I’m giving it a 6.1.