Based on the advertising for it, I expected Mike and Dave to be an exceedingly low-brow rom-com that had far too few laughs and far too much boring and predictable plot, another movie trying to be Wedding Crashers and failing to recognize that style of comedy is on the way out. While I wasn't entirely wrong about what kind of movie it is, I was surprised by a) how genuinely funny and clever it is, and b) how uniquely 2016 it is. The star-studded cast all deliver strong performances, so if you thought Adam Devine is funny in Workaholics, or liked Aubrey Plaza's April in Parks and Recreation, or think Zac Efron or Anna Kendrick are gorgeous, then this movie has something for you (don't worry guys, Anna quickly gets rid of the awful bangs look she sports in the first few scenes). This film is extremely self-aware, and generates real comedy by subverting cliched character archetypes and situational expectations. It opens with a classic "look how much fun these beautiful people are having!" montage, but then quickly flips the script on that exact trope in hilarious fashion. It directly addresses the obvious parallels it has to Wedding Crashers, and characters discuss the cheesy soundtrack choices you would expect in a movie of this type. Perhaps best of all, Mike and Dave avoids the trap that a lot of comedies fall into, where they pack a bunch of laughs into the first half of the movie and then spend far too much time wrapping up the plot (looking at you, Wedding Crashers, 40 Year Old Virgin, Neighbors...). This film knows that the audience is there to laugh, and spreads its jokes throughout without worrying too much about the plot. Some of the ads I've seen have made a big deal about how this is based on a true story, but honestly I have no idea why, because comedy audiences don't care and it seems like neither did the people who made this film. Mike and Dave knows that its only job is to be funny, and it delivers.
Being funny is enough to make Mike and Dave entertaining, but it doesn't make it good. However, I would argue that this is actually a capital G Good movie, because it reflects the cultural moment in which it is created and has something to say about American culture in 2016. This more than anything was what made Mike and Dave a pleasant shock: it is remarkably feminist. If you've only seen the commercials, you're probably rolling your eyes right now, but hear me out. This film is ostensibly about two dudes, but in actuality most of the action is driven by the female characters. The women are more roguish than Mike and Dave, and they create the chaos which creates the comedy. While in most Judd Apatow style comedies (and honestly, most movies period) women only exist to motivate the actions/comedy of male characters, that's not how this film plays out at all. If anything, the men are there to facilitate the women's fun.
Mike and Dave pulls off a unique trick in contemporary cinema; it is undeniably feminist while not being grotesquely self-congratulatory about it. The feminism of this film is treated as natural, as opposed to films like Neighbors 2 and Bridesmaids, which exclaim "oh look, it's a woman who says swear words and drinks booze! How crazy is that! See, we know women are autonomous and empowered!" At the same time, Mike and Dave isn't preachy. It doesn't shame audiences for being surprised by its feminism, but rather treats the fact that women are the most important characters as normal, something that doesn't need to be commented on. These women were hilarious and the primary drivers of plot, but that wasn't the point of them. The point was, in fact, that these women are assholes, as are the men who act in the same self-absorbed fashion. In the end, Mike and Dave doesn't congratulate its wacky protagonists for the hijinks they create, or hold them up as examples to be followed. Instead, it excoriates the way they act, and drives home the point that this is NOT how people, or movies, should behave. That message is the true surprise of Mike and Dave, and it's what enabled me to leave the theater without any guilt over how much fun I just had. Go with your significant other, go with your friends, hell even go with your parents; just go see this film.
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