“That Awkward Moment” feebly tells a convoluted story of three friends who vow to remain single for the sake of being able to hang out with each other. Jason (Zac Effron), Daniel (Miles Teller) and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) soon discover that as awesome as their relationship is, there are some things your buddies can’t do for you that a woman can.
One of the first problems with this plot line is that Mikey is married. His wife wants a divorce, but he is seeking reconciliation, which definitely throws a monkey wrench into the “single forever” pact. Mikey’s marriage notwithstanding, Daniel is secretly in love with his female wing man, and Jason is so desperate to fall in love that he’s the only one who can’t see it.
Apart from the bad story line, the filmmakers don’t seem to want to acknowledge that Mikey is African-American. In and of itself, the attempt to make the movie color blind is noble. But what makes the execution of this gesture a horrendous failure is the extensive use of “black” stereotypes. References to the enormity of Mikey’s penis abound and he even shows up to a very waspy party with a 40 oz.
But African-Americans are not the only affronted group: The way women are discussed and treated by our hero trio is nothing short of revolting. These guys make run-of-the-mill misogynists look like feminists.
The lack of continuity in the timeline and story arc make “Awkward” difficult to keep up with chronologically. The editors repeatedly cut back and forth from one scene to another without giving any clear indication of how much time––if any––has elapsed.
Finally, for this to be a romantic comedy about mid to late 20-somethings, the jokes were just plain sophomoric. Had these lines come from the mouth of Stiffler in an “American Pie” movie, they would have been much funnier. How many jokes about genitalia, flatulence and fellatio can grown men with bona fide careers really make? Unless you’re a cartoonist for Hustler Magazine, I would venture to say very few.
When all is said and done, “That Awkward Moment” is the one spent between this film’s opening titles and ending credits.
Verdict: This film leads to not an awkward, but a depressing moment, where you wish you hadn’t spent $12 on a ticket
GRADE: F-
