CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE Review

It was nice, for once, to walk into a movie having not watched a single trailer, having not read the source material, and literally having zero to no expectation for what was about to be delivered. This type of movie-going experience doesn't happen often in the age of the twenty-four hour news cycle, especially when large portions of that cycle are dedicated to updating fans on every inch of a new movie's production status. The truth of the matter though, was that I personally had zero interest in Captain Underpants, his books, or his potential movies and chalked this initial feature up to being nothing more than a relatively cheap and easy cash grab to capitalize on the popular book series by Dav Pilkey. Still, even this kind of "brand recognition" mentality seemed like it wouldn't serve DreamWorks Animation in the way they might hope as the last I'd heard of the Captain Underpants books was when my younger brother discovered them in elementary school as they gained popularity...in the late nineties. There have been some rather large gaps in the publishing of Captain Underpants novels, but apparently Pilkey is still going strong today and given it's been almost two years since the last Captain Underpants adventure I'm assuming fans might have even been excited for the prospect of a new Underpants adventure not to mention the first one they might experience on the big screen. And so, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is here and while, again, I couldn't have been more unaware of what a movie that had "underpants" in the title could possibly deliver it actually is a rather inspired and genuinely funny piece of entertainment. Granted, this is all very silly and rather outlandish while capitalizing on the fact it knows it's capitalizing on potty humor, but nonetheless the titular character and his creators, elementary school students George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch), burst through scene after scene with tireless enthusiasm and a joy for life and all its possibilities that's downright contagious. Though I have no idea how faithful this film is to a certain novel or the series in general I have to imagine that what is captured on screen is very close to the spirit of Pilkey's series as the most vital ingredient in Captain Underpants is that of getting the audience to view these adventures through the minds of George and Harold and it is in this regard that I came to not only appreciate what Captain Underpants was mining, but kind of adore it for doing so.

MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES Review

One might call Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates director Jake Szymanski's feature debut and to a degree I guess that's correct as this is his first film getting a wide theatrical release (and his first that runs over an hour), but Szymanski is no stranger to comedy or the space in which it occupies in Hollywood. In fact, Szymanski turned Andy Samberg's rather thin idea for a 30 for 30 parody, 7 Days in Hell, into a rather entertaining forty-five minutes last summer. All of this doesn't necessarily mean that Mike and Dave is anything more than one might expect it to be (it's not) and despite sounding like one of those straight to VHS American Pie knock-offs where you might find Tara Reid and the chubby kid from The Sandlot working not-so hard to earn a paycheck, Mike and Dave actually delivers on the promises and premise that have been set up in its marketing. Though it might seem obvious that 20th Century Fox would like to make something of a comedic brand out of Mike and Dave (Mike & Dave Go to London, Mike and Dave Take the World) it somewhat feels as if Szymanski and writers Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O'Brien feel the opposite. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is very much a contained story that gives our main cast of characters defined arcs that take them from one clear point in their lives to the next. What is nice about what both the writers and Szymanski do though is that they don't allow this transformative period to completely define these characters. The titular siblings are still very much who they were in the beginning of the movie at the end of the movie save for the fact they've learned a few lessons and earned some perspective. What I'm saying is that Mike and Dave doesn't turn into a fable of some kind where the intent of the film is to teach its characters and audience a lesson, but rather is more about the challenges and obstacles presented in a certain situation and how a specific type of person deals in the messes they've made. This is undoubtedly the films strongest trait in that it doesn't become wholly what we expect though it is mostly the obtrusive and familiar raunchy comedy you hoped it would be if you bought a ticket in the first place. That said, Mike and Dave delivers some modest pleasures for, despite largely adhering to the beats of the genre, it excels in hitting those beats through a likable and appealing cast.

First Trailer for MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES

How Universal got the jump on 20th Century Fox to get their trailer for Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising in front of Zac Efron's Dirty Grandpa a couple of weeks ago rather than having the first spot for Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates debut ahead of that release seems a mystery that should have been solved in obvious fashion. Not only does Mike & Dave star Efron, but Aubrey Plaza who also played a crucial role in Grandpa. What is more disconcerting than this seeming missed opportunity though, is the fact Efron clearly has no interest in making any other kind of movie than what he's been putting out for two solid years now. R-rated comedies are his meal ticket as he sees it and he has no intention of trying to alter that career path at the moment. Of course, he has to realize he won't be able to play the frat guy/twenty-something screwup his entire life, but while he can he seems intent to take as much advantage of it as he can. At the very least, he's honing his improv and comedic skills for later on down the line and there is no reason Mike & Dave doesn't seem like a prime opportunity to do just that. Personally, I didn't mind Dirty Grandpa as much as everyone else, though that was largely due to De Niro's willingness to go for it despite the general vibe and arc of his character being completely crass and a little sickening. With Mike & Dave, director Jake Szymanski (7 Days in Hell) pairs Efron up with Workaholics star Adam Devine as well as Devine's Pitch Perfect co-star Anna Kenrick. For the cast alone, I'm in, but the trailer makes this seem as if it could potentially be a solid bit of summer fun. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates also stars Stephen Root, Sam Richardson, Sugar Lyn Beard, Mary Holland, Wendy Williams, Stephanie Faracy, Alice Wetterlund, and opens on July 8th, 2016.