Mike (Devine) and Dave (Efron) need much more
than wedding dates in this film.
Their parents and sister and her fiancé sit down for a serious talk
before the occasion, which will take place in Hawaii, and they beg them not to
ruin still another family get-together.
They’re shown videotapes of their bad behavior in the past, and after
being defensive, they listen to their sister’s plea. The family believes that if the two bring “nice girls” as
dates, it will have a taming effect on them.
I suppose that it’s no accident that this movie
is like an extended sitcom—and a bad one that seems never-ending—because the
experience of the director (Jake Szymanski) and writers (Andrew J. Cohen and
Brendan O’Brien) has been primarily in television. It’s a predictable farce, with the young men getting dates,
Tatiana (Plaza) and Alica (Kendrick), who are as bad as they are in real life
(e.g., they have just been fired from their waitress jobs for coming to work
drunk). They have schemed to get
invited and are just looking for a “vaca.” So
original—not! So funny—not!
The writers seemed to have no boundaries in
coming up with “pranks” to ruin a wedding; it seems like whatever they thought
of that would be terrible to happen at a wedding, they put in the script. Of course, drugs and alcohol play a
large role, along with lying, screaming, and conniving with little thought
given to consequences. This gets
very tiresome as scene after scene intended to be funny falls flat, either
because it’s expected or because it’s too cruel/awkward/crude.
Given the roles presented to them, the actors
do a credible job in acting their parts.
Efron and Devine do come across as brothers with a mix of
competitiveness and love, and Plaza and Kendrick as women at sea not knowing
what to do with their lives. When
they get serious, the characters are mildly interesting, but they inevitably
end up looking one-dimensional—any change that transpires appears to be
magical. In that vein, the story
ends illogically in that all of the incompetent doofuses end up being
organized, effective heroes after all the havoc they’ve wrought.
I see no reason for anybody anywhere at any
time to see this movie, and there are a ton of reasons not to see it. To name a few: It glorifies alcohol and drugs, it
glorifies foolhardy risk-taking and impulsivity, it contains constant yelling
and swearing and has a paucity of soul searching, thoughtful
contemplation. Someone might reply
to this, “It’s entertainment! It
doesn’t have to have any depth or serious thought.” My reply? “It
doesn’t?”
Skip this movie; it will be bad for
you.
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