Two crude brothers seek stability in their lives when they put out a world-wide search for dates to their sister’s wedding, in “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”. Delinquent brothers Michael (Adam DeVine) and David Stangle (Zac Efron) frequently ruin family events with their dangerous antics and inebriated behavior. In order to prevent them from ruining their sister Jeanie’s (Sugar Lyn Beard) upcoming wedding in Hawaii, their parents mandate that they attend the wedding with dates. Their appearance on The Wendy Williams Show to advertise themselves catches the attention of Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick), two girls with their own rebellious histories. After pretending to be civilized and respectable, Tatiana and Alice secure Mike and Dave as their respective dates. However, when they get to Hawaii, Mike and Dave find that their dates are much more wild and unhinged than they anticipated, leading to a heads-up competition of can you top this. “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” is directed by first time director Jake Szymanski, and is rated R for crude sexual content, language throughout, drug use and some graphic nudity.

“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” feels like part “Wedding Crashers” and part “Step-Brothers”, and where it builds its own reputation against those comedy genre juggernauts is in a script that really packed the laughs. As far as actual plot goes, there’s very little in the movie, especially during the first two acts, which prefer situational humor. By that, we fly our characters to Hawaii and each scene from here on out is putting them in a new situation each scene, without really advancing the plot. This isn’t always a problem, because I had a fun time with this film. Most of it works on ad-lib humor, and sometimes this can be a negative with comedic actors dragging the joke on for too long. With the exception of a couple quick-jabs that didn’t quite land for their intended designation, this movie punched me in the gut several times with some very innovative and raunchy humor exclusively for the adults. Make no mistake about it, this is a movie where you put the kids to sleep and indulge in a little grown-up humor. A film like this should be graded first and foremost on its material, and the jokes, while not feel good material, do pull out the loudest in sight and situational gags that these four characters can conjure up.

Szymanski has presented to the audience a Farelly Brothers style comedy in the making, but with each film from the legendary comic duo we always got a little heart in their scripts. Does this one have any? The answer is yes. The third act of the movie is by far the best thirty minutes of the script to me. It’s during that time when the movie transitions (albeit a little clunky in delivery) into a movie where our characters finally wake up to the errors of their mistakes. Where it plays it even smarter is in the male and female duos reflecting back on the regrets that have kept them from ever growing up. During this period, we see the blossoming romance between Kendrick and Efron, as well as the spiraling chaos of DeVine and Plaza. This comparison offers a more versatile look into the film’s protagonists, which up to this point were all very similar. By branching them out in separating, we appreciate the character growth that each one of them goes through, and none of that ever sacrifices laughs because the third act brought out some of the very best of the movie.

Zac Efron once again commands the screen with great comedic timing and totally playing against typecast for an actor with his gifted features. The man clearly is building himself as Mr. Dependable when it comes to exceeding our expectations for him, and I felt that he was the glue that held this film together. His interaction with DeVine is so believable that their brotherhood felt authentic. If you squint hard enough, you can kind of make out similar facial appearances between them, and this is great central casting. DeVine certainly proceeds as this generation’s Jack Black, a fast-talking, facial chameleon of expressional delivery. DeVine is often the lead for the movie, and he proved that he can cleverly take the reigns while investing himself both mentally and physically in bringing out the most in each gag. Aubrey Plaza is also sarcastically dry and every bit delightful as she was in January’s “Dirty Grandpa”. Luckily here she doesn’t have to carry the movie as much as she did in that big bomb, but Plaza would gladly be up for the test. There’s something extra to her comedy; the capability to have to play everything that you just heard all over again so you digest it properly. Her character certainly isn’t likeable at all, and Plaza excels at such a trait by deploying the offensive dialogue. Anna Kendrick is decent enough in performance for the movie, but I feel like she is too sweet to play this kind of character. Her material often comes out feeling too forced or repetitive, and the movie sadly feels the slowest during her scenes with Plaza. Two different styles that just don’t mix. None of these actors however stole the show, as that honor distinctly goes to the energetic Sugar Lyn Beard. If her name isn’t cute enough, this vixen will totally steal your heart and laughter with scenes that stop the film dead in its tracks. This isn’t intended to be an insult, as frankly I couldn’t get enough of her throughout the 93 minute feature. Two scenes that have to be seen are a bachelorette massage, as well as a Midnight ecstasy binge that involves the releasing of live horses. Very hysterical.

“Mike and Dave” don’t necessarily need wedding dates, but we find ourselves RSVP-ing for the special occasion. It’s a film that is so easy to lose yourself in the grip of its chaos, but enjoyable even more for performances that lift the raunchy material to passable heights. This is foul-mouthed escapism that shouldn’t be taken as anything more than a raunch-com that brings out the humiliation in all family affairs.

6/10