It has been a long time since poetic confessions of love, soliloquies of passion and "Hamlet"-style suicides have set the stage when talking about dating and romance. Shakespeare was a couple of centuries ago, but that seems to be just the point. With the audience of romantic comedies dwindling to teenage girls and their reluctant boyfriends, star Zac Efron teamed with director Tom Gormican and decided to offer a new take on some of the old clich?©s. Though formerly titled "Are We Officially Dating?", if the name switch to "That Awkward Moment" isn't enough, the trailer should show that this rom-com is as testosterone-filled as they come.
Efron, Miles Teller,and Michael B. Jordan star in the three male roles in the movie, Jason, Daniel and Mikey. After an unfaithful wife and a divorce, Mikey is insecure and discouraged about relationships with women, finding solace only in ice cream. But Jason and Daniel vow to support him through many single-and-ready-to-mingle weekends (staying single all the way through, mind you).
Unfortunately as most bachelors realize, it is actually extremely difficult to stay single when you have movie-star looks and a slight goofy charm that only a Hollywood screenwriter could come up with. Despite making the average Joe feel that he must look and act like Quasimodo to successfully fend off relationships left and right, the movie includes some hilarious scenes that most can relate to, as well as some genuine insights about dating habits in the 21st century.
After "Love Actually" came out, it appeared as though romantic comedies had reached the pinnacle. So while a risky venture, the new take Gormican gives on the age old story of "to be in a relationship or not to be" is a successful one - especially with supporting actresses Imogen Poots and Mackenzie Davis.
The plot is chock-full of entertaining "bro-moments" for all the guys out there to laugh about, as well as plenty of confessional love endings that all girls (who wish their boyfriend looked like Zac Efron) would tell them every night. Go to the theater and see this movie - guys, preferably with your girlfriend. Otherwise, it could actually get pretty awkward.
Abbas Khan Cook can be reached at abbas.khancook@student.shu.edu.
