That Awkward Moment
(D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
'That Awkward Moment' (written & directed by Tom Gormican) offers a cast of appealing performers & a few funny lines of dialogue. But it's a mostly charmless affair. More on that later. The premise for this movie at hand is pretty straightforward: three 20-something yr. old buddies find themselves at that confounding time in every relationship when their casual sex partners suddenly ask, "Soooo ... where is this going? Are we dating?" etc.. Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller, so good in The Spectacular Now) & Mikey (Michael B. Jordan, so good in Fruitvale Station) are our 3 lady killer buddies; living the good life in NYC. Jason & Mikey design trendy book covers at the same downtown publishing company, while Mikey happens to be an up-&-coming Emergency Room doctor.
But after Mikey wakes up one morning to find out that his wife has cheated on him with her lawyer and is serving him with divorce papers, he & his callow pals make a unified pact that they will not "date" women. Instead, they plan to have lots & lots of sex and vow to avoid relationships for one whole year. But of course, the pact is tested when Jason hits it off with smart, sexy, irresistible Ellie (Imogen Poots). Meanwhile, Daniel turns to his longtime platonic female friend Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) for seemingly harmless love-making. As for Mikey, well, he tries to reconcile with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Ohhh so predictably, these 3 supposed 1-night stands develop into something more emotionally substantial. Raunch, sex, profanity, tragedy, sight gags, faux-drama, & empty uplifts ensue.
Writer/director Tom Gormican, whose previous credit is as producer on the awful 'Movie 43', sets up a lude, crude, immature male perspective of the dating experience. It's not surprising that the handful of female characters are underwritten, ill-served, yet ... much more likeable than any male on the screen. In fact, we'd like to reach through the screen, shake these girls, & tell them to run far, far, FAR away from these 3 guys. As for the humor, well, it's your standard R-rated garbage: plenty of screen time devoted to Viagra-extended erections, discolored penises, & urinating horizontally on the toilet bowl {cause, you know, that way audiences can see Zac Efron & Miles Tellers' butts in the air}. In addition, not only is the dialogue crass, but plenty of it is stupid, with jokes landing like a thud.
Even the 'big public apology' that is a hallmark of these type of comedies is unimpressive. Strained, really. Zac Efron does his best (tears & all), but the moment felt entirely unearned. The script does not make it possible for us to like these 3 guys, so the 'apology' felt empty. Speaking of Efron, let me talk about the cast for a sec. Efron is fine (acting-wise), but he plays an enormous pr*ck. Every sly "I'm the hottest thing ever" look he gives, every "aren't I the best" comment out of his mouth ... I just felt like punching him. Sure, he's heart-throbby. But there is absolutely nothing else that's appealing. I enjoyed Miles Teller greatly in Rabbit Hole & The Spectacular Now; I think this kid has got something. But again, he plays too much of a pr*ck here, as well. Michael B. Jordan comes off best, but that's not saying much. 'That Awkward Moment' is mostly mean-spirited, fairly repellent, & not really worth a trip to the movie theater.
But after Mikey wakes up one morning to find out that his wife has cheated on him with her lawyer and is serving him with divorce papers, he & his callow pals make a unified pact that they will not "date" women. Instead, they plan to have lots & lots of sex and vow to avoid relationships for one whole year. But of course, the pact is tested when Jason hits it off with smart, sexy, irresistible Ellie (Imogen Poots). Meanwhile, Daniel turns to his longtime platonic female friend Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) for seemingly harmless love-making. As for Mikey, well, he tries to reconcile with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Ohhh so predictably, these 3 supposed 1-night stands develop into something more emotionally substantial. Raunch, sex, profanity, tragedy, sight gags, faux-drama, & empty uplifts ensue.
Writer/director Tom Gormican, whose previous credit is as producer on the awful 'Movie 43', sets up a lude, crude, immature male perspective of the dating experience. It's not surprising that the handful of female characters are underwritten, ill-served, yet ... much more likeable than any male on the screen. In fact, we'd like to reach through the screen, shake these girls, & tell them to run far, far, FAR away from these 3 guys. As for the humor, well, it's your standard R-rated garbage: plenty of screen time devoted to Viagra-extended erections, discolored penises, & urinating horizontally on the toilet bowl {cause, you know, that way audiences can see Zac Efron & Miles Tellers' butts in the air}. In addition, not only is the dialogue crass, but plenty of it is stupid, with jokes landing like a thud.
Even the 'big public apology' that is a hallmark of these type of comedies is unimpressive. Strained, really. Zac Efron does his best (tears & all), but the moment felt entirely unearned. The script does not make it possible for us to like these 3 guys, so the 'apology' felt empty. Speaking of Efron, let me talk about the cast for a sec. Efron is fine (acting-wise), but he plays an enormous pr*ck. Every sly "I'm the hottest thing ever" look he gives, every "aren't I the best" comment out of his mouth ... I just felt like punching him. Sure, he's heart-throbby. But there is absolutely nothing else that's appealing. I enjoyed Miles Teller greatly in Rabbit Hole & The Spectacular Now; I think this kid has got something. But again, he plays too much of a pr*ck here, as well. Michael B. Jordan comes off best, but that's not saying much. 'That Awkward Moment' is mostly mean-spirited, fairly repellent, & not really worth a trip to the movie theater.