That Awkward Moment, directed by Tom Gormican, portrays three guys of their mid-twenties living in New York City. They make a pact to stay single, until each one of them meets "the game-changer."
Critics and reviewers are being more than harsh. Rotten Tomatoes states, its "formulaic and unfunny" and that it "wastes a charming cast on a contrived comedy that falls short of the date movies it seems to be trying to subvert." While I do agree the casting directors did very well at choosing a charming cast, I do not agree that it fell short of other date movies. The film may not be remembered for all of eternity, but I think the actors did an extraordinary job at keeping it real. People want to relate, and this movie accomplishes that connection with its desired audience. Too, the movie was cast with every day, down to earth, women and not some unachievable supermodel image.
Miles Teller, who played the role of Daniel, was the star comedian. He may not be the most robust human being, but he is real. His character is someone that you could befriend and always count on for a good laugh. Zac Efron (Jason) plays the undeserving, shallow, noncommittal type. The majority of males go through this New Boyz and Ray J phase, where they promise that a woman will never tie them down -- until it actually happens. On the flip side, Michael B. Jordan (Mikey) is already committed in the movie to his wife Vera, played by Jessica Lucas. After she cheats on him and wants a divorce, Daniel and Jason try to take him under their wing. After all the hoopla of being single, the boys find themselves trying to hide what they really want -- a relationship.
In this generation, divorce and casual sex is common. This movie addresses those behaviors, and even though the guys meet the women of their dreams through non-traditional practices it restores hope in finding love in today's world. Of course, any romantic comedy has cheesy moments that leave you feeling embarrassed for even watching the sappy movie. But, for every awkward scene, there was a nice turn around causing an uproar of laughter in the theater.
If you are going to see a rated R movie starring three men, it should be expected that there will be sex, swear words, and other offending scenes. This is exactly the tactic that was used to reach the male audience, and they made sure the film wasn't too shmaltzy. Tom Gormican succeeded in reaching the young adults that exist today, while keeping it entertaining.
Maybe I enjoyed it so much because I went in with such a low expectation. But, overall I was delightfully surprised by the humerous nature of That Awkward Moment. There are many witty scenes not shown in the trailer.
Image Courtesy of Amazon.com