If you want to see a predictable, generic romantic comedy with unlikeable characters, a stupid premise and awful acting, by all means go see "That Awkward Moment."
The movie centers around three friends, Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller) and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan). They decide to make a pact: they are going to stay single men.
Why do they make this pact? The movie gives no adequate explanation. They do it after Mikey finds out his wife has been cheating on him and Jason makes the mistake of suspecting a girl he picked up at the bar is a prostitute. Other than that, it does not show why they entered the agreement. Had they been miserable in past relationships? Are they happier single? They also do not set up any consequences for breaking the pact, yet they take it seriously.
Of course, the agreement ends up being easier to get into than to actually do it in that they all end up in a relationship of some kind. Mikey starts seeing his wife again, Daniel is getting with his best friend -- a relationship that is grossly underdeveloped -- and Jason ends up with the girl he previously thought might be a hooker but is not.
These characters are annoyingly stupid in trying to make their agreement work out. The prime example is with Jason. I seriously wanted to punch him in the face. His girl's father dies, and she wants him to go to the funeral with her to provide comfort. However, he decides not to because going would mean he is in a relationship. Of course she breaks up with him, and of course they get back together in the end, which makes her incredibly stupid. Why would she trust him if he abandoned her because of some stupid pact that never had any consequences in the first place?
None of the principle actors give good performances at all. In some parts -- particularly when they are hitting on girls at the bar -- I thought I was watching a role play on how to pick up women. It did not feel cinematic or natural. All they do is memorize lines, make facial expressions and call it acting.
This is particularly true of Zac Efron. The writers gave his character a line that ironically summarizes his acting skills: "How can you assume that I have any emotional capacity?" He obviously has none. He sleeps with a lot of girls, which I do not understand. He has the charisma of a robot. The only reason he gets anywhere in Hollywood is because of his looks.
There is so much more wrong with this movie, but if I pointed everything out, it would take a novel. It gets one out of five stars from me. If I could, I would not give it any stars. It deserves no recognition whatsoever. Do not waste your money on this.
Content: It is a rated R comedy complete with sex jokes and sexual situations. I don't think there is female nudity, but there is partial male nudity, and there are shots of sex toys. There are plenty of F-words. I would be more detailed, but there is honestly no reason to see this, so I do not feel obligated to warn anyone about it.
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