Of late it would appear critics (and some audiences) and I don’t see eye to eye.

I thought 10 Cloverfield Lane was a bust while over at Rottentomatoes.com its earning an incredibly high 90% approval among critics and an equally impressive 80% approval from audiences.  Then there’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  I really liked the film, even moreso in its “ultimate edition”, yet critics flayed the film alive.  It currently stands at a woeful 27% positive among critics and a not-too-bad-but-not-great 66% among audiences.

I had some free time yesterday and, after looking around at the latest films in theaters, decided to go see Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.  Here’s the film’s redband trailer.  Beware some NSFW language…

I could make this review really short and sweet and say: If you found the above trailer funny, then see this film.  The trailer does a very good job of telling you what you’re in for so if the above didn’t make you laugh, steer clear.  Otherwise, give the movie a try.

Now, to get back to those pesky critics.  Over at Rottentomatoes, the film has a poor 41% positive among critics though a much brighter 70% positive among audiences.  In this case, I go with the audiences.

Look, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (let’s abbreviate it to MDNWD from here on) is not The Godfather.  It’s not Citizen Kane.  It most certainly does not intend to be.

What it is is what you see in the trailer above: A foul mouthed romantic comedy.  The movie features some dodgy acting here and there (come on, the characters are caricatures…even Robert DeNiro in his prime would have a hard time making these cartoons lifelike), some dodgy direction here and there (especially in the movie’s opening act, where the characters and situations are established), and a plot which, though foul-mouthed, ultimately goes for the sweet romantic movie ending…something you can see coming a mile away.

And yet when all the pieces are in place and the central characters, the goofy Stangle brothers (Zac Efron and Adam Devine) are fooled by (its in the trailer, folks) and invite the equally rude and crude Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) to be their “respectable” wedding dates for their dear young sister (a fearless turn by Sugar Lyn Beard), the pieces fall together and there are plenty of laughs to be had.

Again, we’re not talking high levels of cinema art here, and it tickles me to read some of the critics’ negative comments (one noted how Anna Kendrick’s wigs -for some reason she wears one in the film- aren’t even the same color from scene to scene.  To which I say: Come on, you noticed this?!?  And it was among the things that ruined the film for you!??!  Seriously?!?).

Let’s make this real simple: If a film advertises itself as a “comedy” and it makes me laugh a good deal throughout its runtime, it has accomplished its goal.

In the end, I laughed plenty during the film.  While I already mentioned the fearless turn by Sugar Lyn Beard, props also have to be given to Adam Devine.  His manic turn is another highlight.

Based on the above trailer (and the outtakes shown at the film’s end), there appears to be a ton of material that didn’t make it into MDNWD’s final cut.  If you’re like me and you liked this film, you may be curious to see it when it gets released to home video.  Perhaps a ruder/cruder director’s cut is out there?  At the very least there are probably quite a few cut scenes.

Either way, if you liked the above trailer and it made you laugh, you’ll like MDNWD.

Don’t let the “professional” critics drag you down.  This one is recommended.