Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jake Szymanski
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Music by Jeff Cardoni
Cinematography Matthew Clark
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • June 30, 2016 (2016-06-30) (Los Angeles)
  • July 8, 2016 (2016-07-08) (United States)
Running time
 98 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $33 million[2]
Box office $77 million[2]

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is a 2016 American comedy film directed by Jake Szymanski and written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The film stars Zac Efron and Adam DeVine as the title characters, who put out an ad for dates to their sister's wedding, and features Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza as the girls who answer the ad. The film is based on a real Craiglist ad placed by two brothers who wanted dates for their cousin's wedding that went viral in February 2013, which they then turned into a book, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates: and A Thousand Cocktails.[3]

The film premiered in Los Angeles on June 30, 2016 and was theatrically released on July 8, 2016, by 20th Century Fox.[4] It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $77 million worldwide.[2][5]

Plot

Brothers Mike (Adam DeVine) and Dave Stangle (Zac Efron) are alcohol salesmen and view themselves as the life of party at family gatherings. With their sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard)'s wedding in Hawaii fast approaching, their parents tell them they must bring dates to the wedding to keep the brothers out of trouble. When the brothers protest they are shown a video of what really happened at past family gatherings--they burned down a trailer on the Fourth of July camping trip, threw a girl into the gifts table at a cousin's wedding, and caused their grandfather to have a heart attack at their grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. The brothers agree to be on their best behavior and bring respectable dates to the wedding in order to make their sister happy. Not sure how to go about meeting respectable girls, Mike and Dave decide to take an ad out on Craigslist as an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii. The ad quickly goes viral and the brothers go on The Wendy Williams Show to advertise themselves. They become discouraged when all the women (and one man) they meet are not respectable and are only interested in the free trip.

Meanwhile, best friends Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) are slacker party girls who have just been fired for showing up to their waitressing jobs drunk. Alice, whose fiance left her at the altar, feels responsible and tortures herself by re-watching her wedding video. Tatiana sees the brothers' appearance on TV and decides that this free trip is just the vacation they need. They clean themselves up and Tatiana, to get their attention, throws herself in front of a moving car outside the bar where the brothers are meeting women. After letting the brothers think Mike saved Tatiana's life, they all go on a date. Tatiana, posing as a school teacher, flirts with Mike but has no intention of having sex with him. Alice, who is pretending to be a hedge fund manager, thinks sleeping with Dave is just what she needs to get over her ex-fiance. Thinking their family will like these girls, the brothers invite them to Hawaii.

When they arrive in Hawaii, Tatiana and Alice charm the Stangle family but are almost exposed at the meet and greet when Alice, suffering PTSD-like flashbacks of her own wedding, gets drunk and makes jealous, offhanded comments to Jeanie. At the same time Mike and bisexual cousin Terry begin competing for Tatiana's attention. In keeping with being on their best behavior, the brothers book a swim-with-dolphins package for the family; however, the girls convince Jeanie and her fiance, Eric, to take an ATV tour through the mountains instead. Alice and Tatiana show off and perform tricks on their ATVs. Mike, not wanting to be showed up, attempts the same trick but ends up crashing into Jeanie and severely bruising her face. Alice feels bad and bribes a masseuse to give Jeanie a massage with a "happy ending".

Tatiana, in trying to get away from Mike, hides in a sauna where she runs into cousin Terry. Cousin Terry offers Tatiana backstage passes to Rihanna (who happens to be Alice's favorite singer) if Tatiana fingers her. Dave finds himself falling for Alice and opens up to her about his dream of drawing full time and his idea for a graphic novel. She responds by revealing she was left at the altar and shows him the wedding video. Later Mike, looking for Tatiana, walks in on Jeanie having an orgasm during the massage. Upon finding Tatiana and cousin Terry together, Mike storms off and Tatiana admits she was only here for the free vacation. At the rehearsal dinner, Jeanie thanks Alice for the massage and opens up about her fears about getting married. To help calm her nerves Alice gives her ecstasy and another unknown drug, which causes a bad trip. In keeping with her rivalry with Mike, cousin Terry gives a speech that was written by her neighbor, Chris Rock. Not wanting to be outdone, Mike drags Dave backstage and demands he practice their speech instead of spending more time with Alice. They instead get into an argument when Dave confesses he is quitting their alcohol business in favor of drawing. The argument is blasted over the speaker system when Mike tells Dave that Tatiana and Alice are out of control and shares walking in on Jeanie's massage for the whole dinner to hear. The party ends when the brothers end up wresting on stage.

Jeanie and Alice, who wandered off from the party before the speeches, end up taking off all their clothes and releasing a stable of horses. Dave tracks them down and, upon seeing them in their current state, tells Alice he is not interested in pursuing a relationship with her. Dave gets them both back to the resort where Jeanie confesses to Eric that she finds him boring and is having second thoughts about the wedding. Eric, who is already mad because of the massage, calls off the marriage, and everyone blames Mike and Dave. The next day, the brothers make up over their common disappointment in how they acted over the weekend and agree to work together to get the wedding back on track. At the same time, Tatiana and Alice start to feel guilty and also agree to fix the wedding. All four of them go to Jeanie and Eric's room to apologize and attempt to take the blame for the event. The brothers and girls end up getting into an argument over who is more at fault until Eric starts yelling at all of them for being immature. Eric then gives Jeanie an early honeymoon present: hot air balloon ride tickets, even though he is afraid of heights. Jeanie admits she does love him and that he is not boring. With the wedding back on, Mike, Dave, Tatiana, and Alice scramble to get a venue for the reception and food for dinner. Jeanie and Eric end up getting married outside the stables. After the wedding, Tatiana and Mike decide to get into business together selling alcohol. Spending a lot of time together, she starts to fall for him and Alice deletes her wedding video before making out with Dave in front of everyone. The brothers perform a heartful duet to apologize for the problems they caused which moves their family. Alice and Tatiana join them for a second song filled with sexual innuendos that the family dislikes. The fireworks display the brothers set off catches fire and causes everyone to flee the party. Tatiana and Mike later have sex in the stables.

Cast

Production

Casting

In January 2015, Zac Efron joined the cast of the film, with Jake Szymanski directing from a screenplay by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, while Peter Chernin, David Ready, Jenno Topping, and Jonathan Levine were set to produce under their Chernin Entertainment banner.[6] In February, Adam DeVine joined the cast of the film.[7] In April 2015, Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick joined the cast.[8][9] In May 2015, Stephen Root joined the cast of the film, portraying the role of Efron and DeVine's characters' father.[10] In June 2015, Sam Richardson and Alice Wetterlund joined the cast of the film.[11][12]

Filming

Principal photography began on May 25, 2015, and lasted through August 13, 2015.[13] On June 2, the main cast began filming in Oahu, Hawaii.[14] On June 3, Efron was spotted filming.[15] On June 11, Kendrick was spotted filming.[16] On June 12, Efron and DeVine were filming on a Hawaiian beach.[17] On June 15, Efron was on set with DeVine.[18] On June 16, more filming occurred involving the film's main characters.[19]

Release

The film was released on July 8, 2016 by 20th Century Fox.[4]

Reception

Box office

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates grossed $46 million in North America and $31 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $77 million, against a budget of $33 million.[2]

The film opened alongside The Secret Life of Pets and was projected to gross $13–17 million in its opening weekend.[20] It grossed $1.6 million from its Thursday night previews, on par with Efron's Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ($1.7 million), and $6.7 million on its first day. In its opening weekend the film grossed $16.6 million, finishing fourth at the box office behind Secret Life of Pets ($103.2 million), The Legend of Tarzan ($20.6 million) and Finding Dory ($20.3 million).[21]

Critical response

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 36% based on 140 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates benefits from the screwball premise and the efforts of a game cast, even if the sporadically hilarious results don't quite live up to either."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[23]

Aubrey Plaza's performance was praised, often noted as a highlight of the film. The Guardian wrote, "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is very much an ensemble comedy, but much like A Fish Called Wanda earned Kevin Kline the Oscar, Plaza’s ineffable style of comedy (which weirdly teeters between broad farce and muted disinterest) suits the material so perfectly she leaves the others in the dust." Variety stated "where the comedy really takes off, Aubrey Plaza, who was so sharp playing a good girl pretending to be bad in The To Do List, is even sharper playing a bad girl pretending to be good. She’s got a face made for deception — she’s like a devil doll, eyebrows lowering with cunning — and her line readings are killer."

References

  1. ↑ "MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ Maggie Lange (July 7, 2016). "Getting Weird with the Real Mike and Dave Who Needed Wedding Dates". GQ.
  4. 1 2 "Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ Justin Kroll (January 22, 2015). "Zac Efron to Star in Fox, Chernin Comedy 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates'". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  7. ↑ Justin Kroll (February 24, 2015). "'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates': Adam Devine Joins Zac Efron". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  8. ↑ Justin Kroll (April 1, 2015). "'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates': Anne Kendrick Joins Zac Efron". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  9. ↑ Justin Kroll (April 27, 2015). "Aubrey Plaza in 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates': Plaza Joins Cast". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  10. ↑ Jeff Sneider (May 18, 2015). "'Office Space' Star Stephen Root to Play Zac Efron's Father in 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' (Exclusive)". Thewrap.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  11. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (May 6, 2015). "Film Castings: Celia Imrie, Sam Richardson & More". Deadline. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  12. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (June 2, 2015). "Alice Wetterlund Joins 'Mike And Dave; 'Rupture' Rounds Out Cast – Film Briefs". deadline.com. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Open casting call for 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates'Acting Auditions". Acting-auditions.org. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  14. ↑ Dodge, Shyam (June 2, 2015). "Is she your date? Zac Efron takes Anna Kendrick to a tropical wedding as they are spotted filming new comedy in Hawaii". Daily Mail. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ McGrath, Rachel (June 4, 2015). "That's one way to keep cool! Zac Efron falls in swimming pool while filming new wedding comedy with Anna Kendrick". Daily Mail. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  16. ↑ Caldwell, Kayla (June 15, 2015). "Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick is a bathing beauty in plunging pink swimsuit while filming new comedy in Hawaii". Daily Mail. Daily Mail. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Zac Efron looks sick to his stomach as he doubles over on the beach while filming Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates in Hawaii". Daily Mail. Daily Mail. June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  18. ↑ "He's a real life Tarzan! Zac Efron flexes his incredible rippling muscles while swinging through the jungle with co-star Aubrey Plaza". Daily Mail. Daily Mail. June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  19. ↑ Davison, Rebecca (June 18, 2015). "Buff Zac Efron shows off his bulge as he squeezes his muscular physique into a risqué skintight unitard on the set of new movie in Hawaii". Daily Mail. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  20. ↑ "'The Secret Life Of Pets' To Give 'Dory' The Hook; 'Mike And Dave' Targets Millennials – Box Office Preview". Deadline. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  21. ↑ "'Secret Life of Pets' and 'Mike and Dave' Off to Strong Start from Thursday Previews". BoxOfficeMojo.com.
  22. ↑ "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.

External links

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