Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Watching this gross-out comedy, it's clear that the gifted cast and crew had a great time making it. Scenes are packed with wildly ridiculous improvisation, as the script throws characters into some genuinely outrageous situations. And yet it's never actually funny. The longer the film goes on, the more the audience will wonder why they don't feel in on the joke.

It's loosely based on the true story of chucklehead brothers Mike and Dave (Adam DeVine and Zac Efron), whose parents (Stephen Root and Stephanie Faracy) tell them they can't go stag to the wedding of their sister (Sugar Lyn Beard) in Hawaii. They have to find dates to calm down the antics that have ruined family events for years. So Mike and Dave put an ad on Craigslist, and it goes viral, drawing the attention of slacker flatmates Tatiana and Alice (Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick). Pretending to be nice girls, they win over Mike and Dave and head to Hawaii for the big event. But the girls are even more anarchic than the boys. So it's no surprise that a wave of disruptive mayhem follows.

Basically this is a simple coming-of-age story, structured like a standard romantic-comedy that plays out in a series of messy set-pieces. Every beat of the plot is predictable, and the big surprise is that the filmmakers seem terrified of genuine sexuality. Despite using sex and nudity as the (ahem!) butt of most jokes, the film is childish and even prudish. And it doesn't help that virtually all of the gags are obvious and cheap.

Still, the four central players do what they can to add energy and charm to their roles. Efron and Kendrick also bring some terrific chemistry, adding rough edges where they can. Devine and Plaza have more overtly comical characters, and gleefully play with the innuendo and slapstick. But none of the relationships is believable.

It's also impossible to escape the fact that these are four likeable, hugely successful Hollywood stars trying to convince us that they're loser stoners. So when the script strains to bring some emotional sentimentality into the nutty climax, it feels painfully manipulative. And since the filmmakers seem to be playing it safe while trying to pretend that this is a sexy adult comedy, the whole movie feels like a con. The energy of the cast and the beautiful island settings make it watchable, but you'd need to be fairly wasted to find anything about this movie amusing.

Rich Cline

Watch the trailer for Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates: