Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Review: Dumb & Dumber 3 – More ‘American Pie’ funny than ‘Wedding Crashers,’ this comedy will resonate with millenials

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Review

It’s the better looking, younger, more social-media savvy version of Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels.  As bad as that sounds, Adam Devine and Zac Efron deliver some pretty hilarious moments in this film. Their chemistry, in playing real-life brothers Mike and Dave Stangle, is great. I’d have to give the edge to Adam Devine, though. This is his breakout role and breakout film.

The movie’s premise is simple, as you can expect. Because these two knuckleheads have a history of ruining family events while attending ‘stag,’ their dad (played by News Radio/Office Space‘s Stephen Root) requires them to bring wedding dates to their little sister’s nuptuals. They pick Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick), who are the wanna-be female version of Wedding Crashers. Though entertaining, they don’t possess the powerhouse talents of Vaughn/Wilson. That’s OK. They bring some laughs, are easy on the eyes, and will connect well with 20-something party girls out there.

This was an easy fun-to-watch film. Some of the side characters, like Cousin Terry (Alice Wetterlund just kills it), add to the laughs, and we also get some cameos from some of our favorite rising stars. Wedding movies (The Wedding Singer, My Best Friend’s Wedding) are extremely watchable. Vacation destination films (Heartbreak Kid, Grown Ups, Couple’s Retreat) also are popular. When you bring in the American Pie/Eurotrip/Night at The Roxbury factor, you get an unpretentious laughfest. This is the kind of movie where film snobs earn their stripes, and the rest of us grab a few drinks and head into the theatre for a wild ride.