“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” brings the humor you’d expect from the starring cast.
Updated Blu-ray Review…
Dirty Grandpa stars Zac Efron and Aubrey Plaza join “Pitch Perfect” stars Anna Kendrick and Adam Devine in this comedy loosely based on a true story of two men seeking dates for a Hawaii wedding on Craigslist. From the premise and cast, audiences can easily expect a youthful comedy with moments of crude, adolescent behavior. But is this predictable comedy a win? Let’s find out.
Cinematics (Cinematography, Acting, Plot, etc.) – 2
As stated, the plot is very predictable in “Mike and Dave.” You can probably outline the entire film through every act prior to watching. It’s obvious that Mike (Devine) and Dave (Efron) were going to have their ups and downs with each other and their dates Alice (Kendrick) and Tatiana (Plaza). It’s also obvious that the progression of the film would go from comedic and uplifting, to a discovery that leads to chaos, to a redemption for the characters. I apologize if that seems like a spoiler, but with so many films using this formula, citing these plot elements were the best way to prepare audiences for this film.
The formulaic plot isn’t significantly consequential in critiquing the cinematic quality of “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” but it certainly doesn’t help with the other flaws that exist. Zac Efron and Adam Devine fit well into the roles we expect them to play. They’re essentially typecast and fit into their normal personas playing young party-centric alpha males. The unfortunate flaws in the film were with Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick, but only in the beginning of the film. For those who aren’t already aware, I love both of these actresses but their roles in this film were initially awkward. Anna Kendrick’s character was relegated to a shallow individual defining herself by her relationship status. It could be the character, but Kendrick seemed to not fit into the role well and it was distracting. But as distracting as her character may have been, Aubrey Plaza’s character was even more distracting. Speaking primarily in slang in a tone not at all her own, Plaza’s role seemed extremely forced. Luckily they both find their way back to the personas we love midway through the film.
“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” has quite a few cinematic flaws but it does have some redeeming qualities. Adam Devine and Zac Efron have strong on-screen chemistry and I would love to see them paired together again in the future. They feed off of each other and the comedy builds as they dominate. And while I may have critiqued Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza quite a bit, once they start to integrate themselves into the lives of Mike and Dave, the chemistry seems to work with everyone. In addition to that, the filming location in Hawaii is just pure eye candy capturing all of the majestic visuals of the setting.
Overall the film had significant cinematic flaws that did not take much away from the fun but did hurt the aesthetics. The character development took awhile to get going due to the disjointed onscreen performances from some and the plot could be predicted from the trailers. “Mike and Dave” carries some value, just not in the area of cinematic quality.
Entertainment Value – 3.5
When it comes to entertainment, “Mike and Dave” provides an adequate amount. It may be simple but it’s simple fun that you’ll enjoy. After watching the film my first thought was that “Mike and Dave” was an amalgamation of “Wedding Crashers” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” But while those films were two progressively fluid comedies, “Mike and Dave” is sort of a poor man’s version of those films. This doesn’t make the film any less entertaining, it just means that the comedy is reliant solely on intermittent situations rather than having the backbone of a palatable story.
Most audiences should know what they’re in store for when seeing this film. It’s not going to be the best comedy you’ve seen but it certainly won’t be the worst. There are plenty of outrageous moments that will pique your interest and tickle your funny bone as long as you go into the film without any expectations. I personally thought it was time well spent.
Re-Watchability – 3
Speaking of time well spent, I would probably want to give “Mike and Dave” a bit more of that time. I don’t think it will be a go to comedy for me, but as a mindless form of “vegging out,” this is a quality film on the re-watchability scale.
But while I have that interest in watching the film a few more times, I wouldn’t specifically seek it out. If I see it on TV or on a streaming platform, I would be inclined to watch the film again. Based on the amount of features exclusive to the Blu-ray and supplemental comedy, I could also see this as a potential purchase.
Blu-Ray Extras
One thing that I love about comedy Blu-rays is the supplemental, home-viewing extras that are provided. With “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” I enjoyed the amount of comedic value that was added to the film through the deleted scenes and gag reels. The gag reels reminded me a lot of the interviews the cast were doing during the “Mike and Dave” campaign. You got to see the real people break character. For anyone who enjoys a comedy variety show, you know that breaking character is sometimes funnier than the sketch itself.
In addition to the gag reels, the deleted scene added a few more immature, zany antics from Zac Efron and Adam Devine. A particular scene (featured below) goes into their exaggerated bocce ball tournament introduction. The highlight of this scene is definitely their outfits!
While some may have their complaints about the film itself, I think the Blu-ray has some definite value in the realm of comedic extras.
“Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates” is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.