That Awkward Moment

Three twentysomething buddies find themselves at that awkward moment in a relationship when their casual sex partner suddenly asks, “So…where is this going?” Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller), and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) are enjoying the good life in Manhattan. Jason and Daniel are both single, designing book covers at the same trendy downtown publishing company, while Mikey is an E.R. doctor. But after Mikey wakes up one morning to discover that his wife, Vera (Jessica Lucas), has cheated on him—with her lawyer—and is serving him with divorce papers, he and his commiserating friends make a pact that they will not “date” women. Instead, they plan to mate and vacate—guilt-free—and vow to avoid serious entanglements for a year. But when Jason glibly connects with smart ‘n' sexy Ellie (Imogen Poots)—rescuing her from an insistent suitor at a bar—and Daniel turns to their longtime “wing-woman” platonic friend Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis), both of these supposed one-night stands predictably develop into something more emotionally substantial, while Mikey covertly tries to reconcile with his ex. Writer-director Tom Gormican's film presents an immature version of the dating experience— often substituting frenetic pace for intelligent insight—and its hardly surprising that the female characters are sketchily underwritten and ill-served. Add to that an inordinate amount of screen time devoted to male genitalia—Viagra-induced, extended erections; a discolored penis; and urinating horizontally (awkward, indeed). Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the featurettes “Threesome: More Awkward Moments” (9 min.) and “Character Profiles” (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Moment of Truth” behind-the-scenes featurette (10 min.), an extended gag reel (4 min.), and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)