After a series of unfortunate events at important family events, Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave’s (Zac Efron) parents (Stephen Root and Stephanie Faracy), along with their sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) and her fiancé Eric (Sam Richardson), hold and intervention to convince Mike and Dave that they cannot attend Jeanie’s destination wedding, stag. The group gives the brother’s an ultimatum that they either bring dates to the wedding or stay home. And not only do they need to bring dates, but the dates need to be nice girls. Since Mike and Dave love their sister so much, they agree to the ultimatum and set about to find these dates.
Instead of going the traditional route of dating services, sites, or apps, the brothers decide to post an ad on Craig’s List. In a short period of time, the ad goes viral and Mike and Dave find themselves interviewing all kinds of women and men who are looking to take them up on their offer of a free trip to Hawaii. The ad also get them an invite to appear on The Wendy Williams Show, which is how Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick), two party girls, learn about Mike and Dave’s quest.
Alice has just been left at the altar by her former fiancé and Tatiana believes that a new adventure is just what Alice needs to get back on her feet. The only problem is that they are not the good girls that Mike and Dave need. So Alice and Tatiana make themselves over and become the ideal girls that Mike and Dave will take to Hawaii.
After a not-so-chance encounter outside a bar, the four spend an evening together and Mike and Dave ask Alice and Tatiana to be their dates. Needless to say that once the new “couples” arrive in Hawaii, the truth begins to find its way out.
Loosely based on the real-life adventures of brothers Mike and Dave Stangle, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. Devine and Efron have a great on-screen chemistry that allowed for some really hilarious moments. Plaza and Kendrick do a great job of playing both sides of these opportunistic women and they have fantastic chemistry with not only one another but with Devine and Efron as well.
As supporting actors, Root, Faracy, Richardson, and Beard also make their moments count and draw some big laughs of their own. In one of the not-so-subtle scenes in the film, Kumail Nanjiani delivers some sexually-charged but well-delivered comedy as the resort’s massage therapist. One of my favorite people, Marc Maron, also makes an appearance in the film.
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is rated R for crude sexual content, language, drug use, and some graphic nudity. The film runs 99 minutes and is out now. The Blu-ray of the Combo Pack comes with the special features: Deleted and Extended Scenes, Alternate Storyline “Pig Sequence,” Gag Reel, Funny or Die Shorts, Bit on Bits on Bits, Line-O-Rama, Commentary by Jake Szymanski, and a gallery.
