Jason (Zac Efron) is an asshole. Seriously, just ask his friends Daniel (Miles Teller) and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan), they say it to his face. Now I’m not going to go into all the ways he’s an asshole, just a few instances pertaining to the plot of That Awkward Moment to get us started.
To begin, Jason keeps what he refers to as a “roster” of women so he’s never without a booty call only minutes away. You’d think things would change as he’s just started a new relationship with Ellie (Imogen Poots), but despite their first encounter ending in a bout between the sheets (after which he ran out of her house, mistaking her for a high society hooker), she wants to take things a little slower if they’re going to actually date. No problem, Jason will take her out, send her on her way, go home and have sex with Alana (Addison Timlin), a fuck-buddy whose objectification is made to look “okay” because she’s into it too… or is she?
I’m not one to get overly concerned with the misogynistic nature of a film as it’s an argument that could be made against just about every single movie made, but when a movie such as this presents a trio of friends — Jason the asshole, Daniel the blatant misogynist and Mikey, who just caught his wife cheating — and asks us to form a bond of any kind, it makes me wonder if the filmmakers presume all of society is as shitty as these people. Well, two of them at least.
That Awkward Moment finds its disingenuous story momentum in Mikey’s separation from his wife as he moves in with Jason in his New York bachelor pad. Such a scenario is sure to present its own “awkward” moments (see what I did there?) such as the running joke where Daniel stinks up the bathroom every time he visits, or that time Mikey used Daniel’s self-tanner to masturbate, turning his penis orange, and, obviously, the time Daniel walks in on Jason and Alana having sex, but before leaving the room has an awkward conversation with them both. Again, she doesn’t care, she’s cool with it. Let’s invite everyone over for a look-see.
So with Mikey back on the market, Jason and Daniel decide it’s time to reintegrate him into the social scene. Call up Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis), the gang’s female wing-“man”, and they hit the bar scene, trying to get Mikey a girl. Things don’t work out quite as planned, but don’t worry too much, Mikey’s heartbreak eventually turns into frequent sex sessions with his wife as he tries to rekindle that fire. This scenario becomes a matter of rinse and repeat before ending with this film’s very own embarrassing gesture in the waning minutes as one character professes his love for the girl he has wronged throughout the entire film in the form of an impromptu poem. You know, because the movies told him to do it. One guess as to what happens next… She forgives him — Dammit! Spoiled the surprise!
No, I don’t expect movies to mimic real life, they never do and never will. Even documentaries are skewed so as to manipulate the story for added emotional weight and dramatic effect. However, don’t expect you can just plop a bunch of asshats in front of an audience and expect us to like them because they rattle off a repetitive number of dick jokes and find some change of heart in the end after wallowing in their own self-pity.
This film trades on the kindness of its innocent characters (Mikey, Ellie and Chelsie), using said kindness as acceptance for the despicable things both Jason and Daniel do. And I don’t mind despicable behavior, it can be funny, but don’t try and get all emotional on me in the last five minutes because your characters can’t own who they are. Come to think of it, don’t get emotional at all, this is a bro-comedy, why are you trying to pass off weepy poems by the film’s end anyway?
That Awkward Moment serves as the feature debut for writer/director Tom Gormican, one of the 29 producers on last year’s Movie 43, and if this is as deep as his comedic chops go — Seriously? “Cock-tail” as Jason dips his foot-long dildo in Ellie’s mother’s martini glass — I’m afraid future teamings with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer are likely in the offing. He certainly isn’t the second coming of Will Gluck (Easy A) whose 2009 debut Fired Up! (my review) is a perfect example of how to do one of these stereotypical romantic-comedies with a slight edge and still maintain a level of humor and characters you don’t hate… and even it’s not very good, but it’s a hundred times more watchable than this.
Looking at my watch 40 minutes in I knew there was nearly an hour left and I had no idea what else Gormican was going to do to expand the running time. Would he have Jason sleep with another girl? Would Daniel sleep with Chelsie again or would some misunderstanding tear their love asunder? Would Mikey ever call the girl with the glasses or was he still in love with his wife (as if the only genuine sorrow in the film is a bad thing)? Oh, the drama. As it turns out, Gormican played those scenarios out until they broke, leading to the disingenuous ending before a series of bloopers and alternate takes play over the credits. No thanks.
