Male bonding at heart of this rom-com
That Awkward Moment 1/2 (out of five) Starring: Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller Directed by: Tom Gormican Running time: 94 minutes Advisory: 18A Playing at: South Edmonton, Galaxy, North Edmonton, Scotiabank, Windermere, Clareview, City Centre,
Jason (Zac Efron), the handsome and charming jerk at the heart of the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment, has a theory about women. “When it comes to girls, nothing good ever follows the word ‘So’,” he says.
Jason’s theory is that it’s always “So, where is this going?” or “So, what are we doing?” — although in his case, it might also be “So, are you going to sleep with me and then tiptoe out in the morning and never call again?”
That Awkward Moment is a raggedy and familiar version of the old story about three lady-killing young guys in the big city — in this case, a lovingly photographed New York — who dodge big commitment words like “dating” and “girlfriend” until, almost by mistake, they meet the right women. There are several contrived crises along the way, and some juvenile mix-ups, and many improbably beautiful young women throwing themselves at our heroes, but you’re swept along by how nice Efron looks both in his clothes and out of them, the great warm bars where they all hook up, and everyone’s funky bohemian apartments.
That Awkward Moment may not tell you much about relationships, but it’s not a bad design guide for the privileged twentysomething lifestyle of Manhattan, circa 2014.
The swinging bachelors are modernized versions of what Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin used to represent in the ring-a-ding days of the 1950s (Sinatra’s version of this film, The Tender Trap, came out in 1955). Jason and his best friend Daniel (Miles Teller, the preternaturally self-assured young man from The Spectacular Now) work in a laid-back office designing book covers. They’re soon joined by Mikey (Michael B. Jordan from Friday Night Lights and Fruitvale Station), a married doctor whose wife has just announced that she’s seeing other men.
The three of them make a pact to revel in the single life, building up their “roster” of available women without ever “dating” in any formal way. But things get complicated with the arrival of Ellie (Imogen Poots), whom Jason meets in a bar.
The male fraternity, in fact, is the key love story of That Awkward Moment. A lot is about the code. It’s the other men that the girlfriends have to worry about, and the real awkward moments involve leaving the fraternity of brohood for a real live woman.