Are We Officially Dating?: Movie Review

Are We Officially Dating?: Movie Review

Cast: Zac Efron, Imogen Poots, Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Mackenzie Davis
Director: Tom Gormican

Buddy boy rom-coms get another once over with this comedy with Zac Efron.

Efron is Jason, a lothario, who's all about the booty call and the lack of commitment. A book cover designer by day and barfly by night, he lives his life in the now, and always avoids that awkward moment in a relationship when it's about to turn serious.

But when his friend Mikey discovers his wife is cheating on him, he decides, along with their other lady killer buddy, Daniel (the ever impressive Miles Teller), that all three of them will stay single in a bromance commitment to each other for as long as they can.

However, that plan hits a roadblock when Daniel falls for the group's wingman (actually a woman) Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) and Mikey keeps trying again with his wife. And things get worse for Jason, who falls for Imogen Poots' Ellie in a bar. After a one night stand, the pair bump into each other at Jason's work - and complications ensue.

Are We Officially Dating? aka That Awkward Moment is the kind of romcom that tries to appeal to the boys as it celebrates the bonds of bachelorhood but gets caught up in the schmaltz of typical romcom tropes.

It isn't always so during the start of the movie; there are playful moments and laugh out loud raunchy moments as a naked Zac Efron pivots on a toilet after taking Viagra and Michael B Jordan masturbates over a coaster from a woman whose number he got in a bar. But those moments fade pretty quickly as the script and story settles for something formulaic and entirely unenticing.

It's not really Efron's fault though - the story's lacking in any real fizzing moments as it plays out; Teller has some nice moments as he realises that the girl who's been helping him to hook up is the one for him and Jordan comes full circle as he realises that married life will never be the same. However, it's Poots' character who suffers the worst in this - she's initially feisty and a little bit independent but gradually begins to crumble as time goes on. Her worst crime is taking on Jason after he abandons her in an hour of need, just because of fears that by showing up, it would prove they're dating and committed.

All in all, Are We Officially Dating? has no incisive insight into modern relationships, nor does it offer enough of the stupidity to appeal to the male spectrum of cinema-goers. It's weak, lacking in ribaldry and fails to hit the spot at all.

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