Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates – Review

• Nick Spake


• 6 Jul 2016

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates offers two invaluable comedic duos for the price of one. Adam Devine and Zac Efron star as brothers Mike and Dave, respectively. Reckless, hard-partying, and utterly charming, these guys are like millennial versions of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers. Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza play roommates Alice and Tatiana. They’re reminiscent of the ladies on Broad City, except arguably even more immature and foul-mouthed. When all four of these highly dysfunctional individuals clash, it’s a recipe for disaster, not to mention hilarity. Throw in a little romance and you have easily the best wedding comedy since Bridesmaids.

Sort of based on a true story, the film follows the titular Mike and Dave, who are notorious for getting wild at family events. With their little sister’s wedding on the horizon, the two are asked to bring dates that’ll keep them in check. Only wanting the best for their sis, the brothers agree to be good and put up an ad for wedding dates on Craigslist. The ad unexpectedly goes viral, attracting all sorts of crazy women and one man. Mike and Dave seemingly find two nice girls in Kendrick’s Alice and Plaza’s Tatiana. Unbeknownst to the guys, however, the girls are just looking to get a free trip to Hawaii. By the time Mike and Dave realize this, all hell has already broken loose.

Part of what makes Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates so much fun is that none of the main characters are responsible, considerate adults. They’re all totally out of control and seriously need to grow up. Yet, these aren’t necessarily bad people either. Deep down, all of them want to do good by the ones they care about. They just have a twisted, screwed up way of showing their affection. In that sense, Mike, Dave, Alice, and Tatiana all belong together. It’s really kind of sweet when you think about it, not to mention funny.

Our four leads aren’t the only memorable players here. Stephen Root and Stephanie Faracy are hysterical as longsuffering Mike and Dave’s parents, who love and hate their sons simultaneously. A couple Silicon Valley actors also make cameos with Alice Wetterlund as the sexually confident Cousin Terry and Kumail Nanjiani as a massage therapist that takes happy endings to a whole new level. Sugar Lyn Beard in particular kills it as the mousy bride-to-be, who’s pushed to her limits as the wedding day approaches.

From a storytelling standpoint, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is fairly predicable. We all know where the characters are going to end up and what’s going to be learned. However, it does avoid several familiar tropes you might expect from a comedy like this. For example, we keep waiting for the classic liar revealed plot point where Alice and Tatiana are exposed for who they truly are. While the cat does eventually come out of the bag, it doesn’t get in the way of the comedy. The filmmakers never slow down to work in unnecessary drama, instead focusing on producing the most consistently funny movie possible.

With that said, Director Jake Szymanski, as well as screenwriters Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, clearly knows comedy. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is one of those flicks with one big laugh after another. The absolute best bit involves a four-wheeler incident, although I won’t go into detail for your sake. Let’s just say that the scene will put you in stitches and leave you wanting to come back for a second viewing. With great talent in front of and behind the camera, it’s a blessed union of comedy.

4.0/5