Alice and Tatiana Need a Vacay

Bad behavior and immature shenanigans make for good comedy, and the latest raunchy R-rated offering, ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,’ is no exception.  Fresh off reprising his role as a party animal frat-boy in ‘Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,’ Zac Efron plays the younger (and surprisingly) more mature and level headed of two dorky brothers who, at the directive of their long suffering parents, had to find respectable dates to bring to their little sister’s wedding in Hawaii.  They did so by posting an ad on Craigslist plus a Youtube invitation for open auditions and appearing on Wendy Williams when it goes viral.  Whoo boy, what could possibly go wrong?

 

The two winners of a free “vacay” to Hawaii turned out to be saucy and irresponsible Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and sweet and dopey Alice (Anna Kendrick).  Alice is still recovering from the emotional trauma of her own recent wedding disaster and Tatiana thought going to Hawaii would be just the thing for her BFF to “get her groove back.”  At first, the two dates seem pleasant enough and appear to be just what the doctor ordered to hold Mike (Adam DeVine) and Dave (Efron) in check, but first impressions can be deceiving and the girls soon proved to be even wilder and more of a handful than the hapless siblings.

 

M&DNWD has its share of funny moments amidst all the dysfunctional family drama, and the predictable redemption moment in the end is true to formula.  Nothing is really new or anything we haven’t seen before, but the movie also has “heart” and its four young stars bring just enough to the wedding in their roles to make the movie a worthwhile diversion.  Besides, a movie featuring the comely Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza can’t be all that bad, right?

Grade: B