Review of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) by Jeff B — 18 Aug 2016

Working very wedding bell blue, the Pitch Perfect cast offers moviegoers bursts of hilarity in a comedy both original but patchy. For all of the Fockers out there, here comes a twist on the fish-put-of-water marriage comedy and it claims to be "real." "Inspired by the life stories of Mike Stangle and Dave Stangle," the script spins real events into heightened bits, gags, and routines that really push the Adults Only envelope. This bodes well and unwell overall. Some scenes and exchanges kill while others simply get murdered. Tonally, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates has problems. The script by Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O'Brien (Neighbors) turn out some ridiculously crowd-pleasing moments like the two female leads showing up to work very drunk and ready to dance on tables, but they also serve up left-field flubs that border on surreal (Anna Kendrick's Alice claims to have a husband who died of cancer, AIDS, and then a plane crash). It wants to be funny and shocking but turns out to be neither. The thing with screwball comedies is that, as much as they are screwy, they are also buoyed somewhat in reality at every juncture. While this comedy's Meet the Parents slapstick fares well, the more extreme and button-pushing moments do not.

In this R-rated comedy, two brothers (Efron, Adam Devine) place an online ad to find dates for a wedding and the ad goes viral.

Still, despite an uneven tone, former Saturday Night Live director Jake Szymanski does deserve a great pat on the back for assembling a brilliant comedy-friendly cast that tries to sell through the laughs at every possible moment. High marks go to Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Efron (That Awkward Moment), Devine (Comedy Central's Workaholics), Aubrey Plaza (NBC's Parks & Recreation), and Stephen Root (Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine) even when the marriage of talent and material fizzles.

Bottom line: Wedding Crash and Burn.