Hi, Bryan Here…
I really wanted to like ‘That Awkward Moment‘, but I never found myself enjoying the film, other than the sporadic chuckles that came once every twenty minutes. And even then, it wasn’t a gut-busting laugh. One of the producers of ‘Movie 43‘, Tom Gormican, wrote and directed this movie. Let it also be known that this is also his only movie credit other than ‘Movie 43‘, which is obvious after you watch ‘That Awkward Moment‘. This twenty-something romantic comedy tries to hard to be a Judd Apatow film, but lacks just about everything good from an Apatow movie. It’s a clumsy flick that is cliched at every corner with poor editing, a terrible script, and some mis-cast actors. I’m sure this raunchy rom-com will make a decent amount of money, but will be instantly forgotten.
Every couple of months, we receive some sort of romantic comedy that involves a few young people who enjoy living the single life, but find love in unexpected places. And like the story goes, things go well for a while, but shit hits the fan and everyone ends up mad at each other. But at the end, everyone has a nice resolve. I don’t mind these story lines, but you have to do something original and fresh to keep this tired plot alive. That is not the case here.
We center around Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller), and Mikey (Michael B. Jordon), all who are college buddies who have successful lives in New York City. Daniel and Jason design book covers together at a posh book publisher downtown, while Mikey is a successful doctor. Mikey is also married, while Daniel and Jason live a life of bedding a different girl every night. Unfortunately for Mikey, his wife is cheating on him with a lawyer and wants a divorce. Leave it to his best friends to throw out his chocolate ice cream bowl of depression and replace it with a scotch filled night at the bars looking for hot sex.
The three guys make a deal that they will all stay single until Mikey is not depressed anymore and in a relationship. But sooner than later, Daniel and Jason fall for two girls who come into their lives. And for some reason, these guys would rather win a bet than let these cool girls know that they are dating, so their relationship statuses are kept secret. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Gormican’s script adds some of the usual raunchy humor that consists of a bunch of dick jokes, none of which are memorable. And these moments are usually ruined by some very cheesy dialogue. In addition to these comedic moments, Gormican adds some fairly intense dramatic moments, which don’t seem to fit the movie. And we are forced to feel something super emotional when we are only given a few seconds with a certain character. It just doesn’t work.
Miles Teller is good as usual in this role as he has the wittiest lines and garners the most laughs. But he has obviously been in better. Efron and Jordan are completely mis-cast in this film. Efron dons a Dark Knight-like raspy voice through the entire film and can’s seem to deliver a funny line with good timing to save his life. It’s truly awkward to watch. And Jordan of course, is an amazing actor, but comedy, at least in this movie wasn’t his thing. And Gormican’s camera work and editing is so spotty and messy, you’d think it was the first time he tried to make a movie. Wait, it is.
‘That Awkward Moment‘ isn’t the comedy you want it to be. Instead, it’s the same old dribble of raunchiness and silly humor that is spewed out every other month. And it’s sad that the best part of the film is during the end credit blooper reel sequence where a great cameo by a great actor appears on screen.
1/5 STARS
– Bryan Kluger