Adaptation Blu-ray Review

'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' Blu-ray Review: Zac Efron and Adam Devine are more than bros, they're brothers

October 5, 2016Ben MK



FEATURE: 
"Based on a true story" and "raunchy comedy" are two phrases that you seldom hear uttered in the same breath. But with Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, that's exactly what we get, as Zac Efron and Adam Devine play two real-life brothers who take the hilarious route to finding last-minute dates for their sister's wedding.

As Dave and Mike Stangle, Efron and Devine are two well-meaning, party-loving siblings whose affinity for a good time has landed them in their family's bad books. Consequently, their fed-up dad Burt (Stephen Root) has issued them an ultimatum. With their sister Jeanie's (Sugar Lyn Beard) Hawaiian wedding fast approaching, Mike and Dave must find a pair of "nice girls" to bring, so that they don't show up stag and ruin yet another family gathering. There's just one problem: Where do our two lovable leads find a couple of respectable ladies?

Naturally, Mike and Dave turn to Craigslist, and the result is just as disastrous as you might expect. But after screening date after prospective date, each of whom seems to be solely interested in a free vacay, Mike and Dave finally meet Tatiana and Alice (Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick), and it feels like they've found their dream girls. The four of them soon end up in Hawaii, but when Mike and Dave discover that Tatiana and Alice are even more hardcore at partying than they are — well, let's just say that it doesn't bode well for Jeanie's wedding.

Directed by Jake Szymanski and based loosely on the real-life Stangle brothers' similarly-titled memoir, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates benefits immensely from its game cast, who manage to generate consistent laughs from Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien's rote script. The downside, however, is that it's not enough to make the film especially memorable. Even so, the result is at least thoroughly enjoyable. And it's further proof that Efron — who was equally hilarious in the two Neighbors movies — should stick to making comedies full-time.

AUDIO & VISUALS: 
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates crashes Blu-ray with a very agreeable-looking 1080p transfer, one that's crisp and nicely detailed from start to finish. The real highlight of this visual presentation, however, is the color palette, which perks up significantly once the narrative moves to Hawaii, where blue skies and lush, green expanses of island vegetation beckon. As for the audio, the movie comes equipped with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix, which may strike viewers as a bit of overkill, considering that the film's sound design is more or less what you might expect from your standard comedy. Nevertheless, dialogue and boisterous party music come through loud and clear, along with the sounds of tropical breezes, ocean waves, crackling fireworks and roaring ATV engines.

EXTRAS: 
Fox's two-disc Blu-ray combo pack includes an iTunes/UltraViolet digital copy, a DVD and the following Blu-ray extras:

  • Deleted Scenes (23:48) - Fourteen scenes ("Mike's New Brotha," "Mike and Dave Commiserate," "Stella Needs to Get Her Groove Back," "Dave and Alice Get Drunk," "Mike Puts Dave to Bed," "Cabana Wake n' Bake," "Bocce Ball!," "Mike Loses It Over Tatiana," "Mike Assuages the Situation," "Tatiana's Uber," "Tatiana Confides in Burt," "Mike and Dave Are Sorry," "Sex Stuff" and "Becky and the Masseuse ").
  • Extended Scenes (39:12) - Sixteen scenes ("Sake Bombers," "Great Little Package They're Selling," "Mike and Dave on Wendy Williams," "Meet Cousin Terry," "Jeanie's New Face," "Mike and Dave Are in Trouble," "Alice Crashes Spa Day," "Side Effects," "17,000 Punches in the Face," "Jeanie and Eric Break Up," "Mike and Dave Make Up," "We're Always Gonna Need Each Other," "Three Ways to Skin a Hotel Manager," "Dave and Alice Need a Pig," "Dave and Alice Make Out" and "The Newlyweds Say Thank You").
  • Alternate Storyline Pig Sequence (7:45) - A compilation of scenes comprising an excised subplot.
  • Bits on Bits on Bits (6:21) - Various unused jokes.
  • Line-O-Rama (10:02) - The cast improvise their lines.
  • Gag Reel (5:27) - Goofs and flubs from the set.
  • Funny or Die Shorts (6:40) - Three shorts ("Wedding Stories with the Cast," "Adam Devine Has Hypersensitive Ears" and "Zac Efron Can't Stop Taking Selfies").
  • Commentary by Jake Szymanski - Director Jake Szymanski talks about shooting the movie in Hawaii, the true story on which the movie is based, the cast and their chemistry, the jokes, the lighting and the cinematography, and more, while occasionally being humorously interrupted by someone named Margie, who reminds him of what not to do during the commentary.
  • Gallery - A selection of 40 behind-the-scenes production stills.
  • Theatrical Trailers (4:48) - Two trailers ("Red Band Trailer" and "Theatrical Trailer").

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is available from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment as of September 27th, 2016. The Blu-ray features English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish, French and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian DTS 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1 Descriptive Audio tracks. The film is presented with English, Spanish, French, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish subtitles. The total runtime is 1 Hr. 38 Mins.







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