Film Review – That Awkward Moment

Director: Tom Gormican
Screenplay: Tom Gormican
Cast: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Imogen Poots
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Ratings:***

That Awkward Moment is a film about three friends Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller), who both have commitment phobia and they date more than one girl at a time, and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) a young doctor who has been married since the end of college. Mikey’s world falls apart when his wife Vera (Jessica Lucas) asks him for a divorce because she is in love with her lawyer. The three friends make a pact to stay single and to have casual relationships only from now on.
Jason and Daniel decide to take Mikey out to celebrate being single and to try get Mikey’s mind off his wife. This is where Jason meets Ellie (Imogen Poots) who eventually becomes his girlfriend no matter how hard he tries to make the relationship as casual as possible. Meanwhile Daniel starts to fall in love with his female friend and wingman, Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis). While all this is going on, Mikey gets back with his wife. All three friends now have someone in their lives again, but they do not tell each other because of the pack they made to stay single. The film takes its audience through the journey of how they try to make their relationships work without telling each other.
This film was not as good as I expected it to be. I expected it to offer so much more considering all the hype it got before it was released. The acting is good. Everybody plays their roles with conviction and I have to single out Miles Teller who plays his part to perfection. I have always thought he is an underrated actor and that he should get more lead roles. I can not wait to see him in the upcoming film Fantastic Four, where he will be playing Mr Fantastic himself.
I am not saying the other actors are poor, on the contrary. Zac Efron has come a long way from his teen idol days in his roles in the Disney Original Movies, High School Musical.
I am very familiar with Zac Efron’s acting ability as a teenager. My small cousin had all three films and she would always force us to watch them with her every Saturday morning and if we refused, she would say we do not love her.
The point I am making is that I have watched the High School Musical movies almost every weekend for a year and I know every song and scene by heart, but watching Efron in That Awkward Moment, there is no trace of the singing dancing boy in this film. He has grown up and matured in his acting quite well. He should just ease up on the alcohol and drugs before he becomes one of those child stars whose life and acting career spiral down the drain. Even though the film was a bit of a disappointment it had its very good moments. I found it more funny than romantic maybe because any silly joke or comment can make me laugh, plus I am not much of a romantic anymore. And even though it has a happy ending this film actually shows me how men are and what they think.