Mild humor on the menu in ‘Mike and Dave’

In the fitfully funny comedy “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” opening July 8, the title characters (Adam Devine and Zac Efron, respectively) are brothers forced by their parents’ intervention to bring nice, respectable girls to their sister Jeanie’s (Sugar Lyn Beard) nuptials in Hawaii. Apparently, too many family gatherings have been catastrophes because of the siblings’ bad behavior and worse judgment. There is even a very amusing video to prove it.

 

The guys, who put an ad for dates online and even go on “The Wendy Williams Show,” get more than they bargained for — and not because one prospective girl, Lauralie (Bob Turton), is a man in drag who really wants to have sex with Dave. No, the trouble — and much of the film’s humor — stems from the two women who connive to be those dates.

Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) are fired from their bartending job because they showed up drunk, again. They are looking for adventure and see the brothers’ offer of a free trip to Hawaii as the vacation they deserve. Tatiana can drink to her heart’s content, and Alice can finally get over being jilted at the altar. Pretending to be good girls, Tatiana and Alice meet Mike and Dave literally by accident, when Tatiana is hit by a car and Mike helps save her. The foursome hit it off, and so it’s off to Hawaii.

The film has Tatiana and Alice making good impressions on Jeanie as well as the brothers’ parents (Stephen Root and an underused Stephanie Faracy), and even Terry (Alice Wetterlund), the brothers’ butch, bisexual cousin, who thinks Tatiana is pretty hot.

But once everyone is gathered together at the destination wedding, the chaos begins. The girls encourage Jeanie to go on an ATV course and, of course, a horrific — and actually somewhat hilarious — accident happens. What should be a relaxing massage for Jeanie turns into a highly erotic session because Alice tips Keanu (Kumail Nanjiani) to give Jeanie “a full release.” While there are some belly laughs generated from the slick nude bodies rubbing and bumping together, the spa shenanigans that transpire between Tatiana and Terry in the spa’s steam room are equally wild.

Alas, too much of this broad comedy goes for the obvious joke. When Alice gives Jeanie ecstasy, the bride-to-be gets very naked and very unafraid to say what’s on her mind. Likewise, a series of snafus and miscues cause Mike and Dave, as well as Tatiana and Alice, to say things they should probably keep to themselves. But these moments don’t have the comic zing that the film’s more elaborate set pieces do, which is why “Mike and Dave” is so uneven.

It is a given that Jeanie and her fiancé Eric (Sam Richardson) are going to have a hitch getting hitched, but the film — “based on a true story … sort of,” a title card announces — seems to always go for the lowest common denominator. The problem is not the crudity or the nudity, but rather the fact that the characters are not particularly likeable. It becomes harder to laugh either with or at them.

That said, there is some heart in the film when Dave and Alice start to connect emotionally. Their romance, however, means Efron does not do much in the way of comedy. What is more — or less, as the case may be — the buff actor appears shirtless only twice (for those who count such things). Efron seems to be playing Dean Martin to Devine’s more manic Jerry Lewis-like character. At least the “High School Musical” actor does get to sing and dance here, albeit briefly, which provides some nice moments for his fans.

In contrast, Devine tries far too hard to be funny throughout the film. He mugs shamelessly, says stupid things — as when he makes up a strange new sexual term — and wears a loud pantsuit that Tatiana claims is “wallpaper stolen from a Long John Silver’s bathroom.”

As Tatiana, Plaza is a wonderfully devious comedienne with crackerjack comic timing, especially when she repeatedly teases Mike with a come-on for sex but leaves him hard or hanging, or when she switches effortlessly from good girl to bad as the situation demands. Plaza has a game coconspirator in Kendrick, who relishes misbehaving and helping Jeanie let her guard down. In support, Wetterlund steals her every scene as the confident and competitive Terry.

Ultimately, “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” is very raunchy in places, but it is a mild comedy overall.

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