A real online advertisement (Craigslist at 9:13am on February 13th, 2013) from a pair of twenty-something brothers looking for dates inspired Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. With literally thousands of responses, the bros quickly attracted national attention, discussing their creative dating tactics with Matt Lauer on the US Today show and with Anderson Cooper on CNN. Screenwriters Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O’Brien took the concept and decided to turn the tables on the boys.
So, the storyline has hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) placing an ad to find the perfect dates – who turn out to be Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) – for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Mike and Dave are young, adventurous, fun-loving and, some would even say, obnoxious. The “some” would include other members of their family. So when their sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) announces she’s getting married, the family holds an intervention, demanding that Mike and Dave bring dates. Respectable dates! The reason for the intervention is revealed through quick flashbacks that recall the guys’ antics over the years at family gatherings. Everyone’s having a good time, things are going smoothly, and then Mike and Dave show up stag, get drunk, hit on the girls, act like idiots and ruin the celebration.
As Jake Szymanski, who makes his feature directorial debut puts it “they’re just trying to have one family event that doesn’t get completely screwed up by Mike and Dave.” To fulfil their clan’s directive Mike and Dave turn to the best source of decent, respectable girls they can think of: Craigslist. They place an ad promising that their selected companions will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii and the chance to participate in all of the family wedding-related activities. The ad goes viral and the response is so overwhelming that Mike and Dave have no choice but to audition the candidates. They meet with nice girls, grungy girls, weird girls, paranoid girls, militant girls, twin girls that look like guys, girls that are guys.
The dates they hadn’t counted on are Tatiana and Alice. They seek out the brothers and charm their way into the winning spot as wedding dates. In no time, the boys find themselves outsmarted and out-partied by the uncontrollable duo and all hell breaks lose.
Dead head comedies, as I call them, have become all the rage since over-the-top silliness made megabucks with the likes of The Hangover. What they have in common is outrageous acts (the more bizarre the better, it seems) … and stupidity. This one is no exception. Some of it works (yes, a few of the scenes bring laughs). Much of it falls flat or seems forced. That goes for both the sight gags and the one liners.
Older brother Mike is simply a boorish character. Dave and Alice are almost too nice to be spoken about in the same breath as Mike, although Alice loosens up to be a red hot rager. Tatiana is more hard-nosed and appears up for anything.
If lowbrow, popcorn entertainment is what rocks your boat, then here’s your perfect tonic, especially if you are in your late teens and twenties. Rated MA, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates scores a 6 out of 10.
Director: Jake Szymanski
Cast: Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, Adam Devine, Aubrey Plaza, Stephen Root
Release Date: 7 July 2016
Rating: MA15+ – Strong sexual references, drug use and coarse language
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television