Another HBO free preview and another slew of movies put into the DVR. This group was from July 22nd, 2017. The first movie on this block of programming is the pleasant, engaging, and frequently funny Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.
Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) are two man-children brothers who have a habit of getting wasted and ruining every family get-together. With their sister’s Hawaiian wedding on the horizon, their father (Stephen Root) orders them to find nice and respectable dates for the occasion. Enter two sketchy, down-and-out friends named Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) who pass themselves off as nice girls in exchange for a free trip to Hawaii, but in reality, they are just as wild and out of control as Mike and Dave.
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates has a one-note sitcom premise. You might even find yourself experiencing a little bit of Wedding Crashers déjà vu. (Heck, the characters reference the movie at one point.) All that doesn’t really matter though if the performances are entertaining and the laughs are there, which they are.
It’s pretty much a far-gone conclusion how all of this is going to play out. Even if the set-ups (and often times, the punchlines) are predictable, there is enough genuine chemistry between Efron and Devine and Kendrick and Plaza to put a fresh energy into even the most obvious jokes. Plaza in particular is very funny, especially when she occasionally lets down her guard and her wild side slips out. The extended scene where she and Devine flirt back and forth contains more laughs than most recent comedies have in their entire runtime. We also get a few cameos and guest stars who help keep the laughs moving at a steady clip. I mean, you know you’re in the right place when Marc Maron is in the opening scene. Kumail Nanjiani also has a memorable bit as a sensual massage therapist.
Bottom Line: Even though it’s cliché and predictable, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates has enough laughs to make you say “I do” to watching it.
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