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'Are We Officially Dating?' An interesting male-driven romance movie
What the movie Are We Officially Dating? falls short in by giving a male perspective of a romantic flick, it makes up through its appealing cast
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What the movie Are We Officially Dating? falls short in by giving a male perspective of a romantic flick, it makes up through its appealing cast.
With its sluggish plot and delayed release in Indonesia, it is doubtful whether the film ' released under another title, That Awkward Moment, early last year but due to open in Jakarta only this month ' will attract many moviegoers here.
The movie starts with High School Musical star Zac Efron, who plays Jason, a charming young graphic designer at a publishing company who works with his friend Daniel (Miles Teller). Together, they enjoy the single life and casual flings.
Their dating rules are simple. They enjoy a no-strings-attached relationship for a week or two and leave when the girls ask, 'So where is this going?'
Their best friend, Mikey (Michael B. Jordan), is a young doctor whose dream of the perfect life is crushed when his wife asks for a divorce. Jason and Daniel welcome Mikey back to their apartment and make a pact that three of them will avoid relationships.
As predicted, they soon face challenges staying single. Accustomed to casual relationships with different women, Jason finds he can't keep his mind off an aspiring author, Ellie (Imogen Poots).
Daniel is falling in love with Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis), his female wingman who helped him approach a woman in a bar. Daniel keeps their relationship low key to avoid his friends from being disappointed.
Pressured by Jason and Daniel to find a date, Mikey approaches an attractive woman in a bar and gets her number. But he never calls her and instead keeps thinking about his wife, who has been cheating with her lawyer.
In the first half, the film seems to offer something fresh ' a romantic drama in the perspective of men that delivers smutty jokes and funny moments. For example, when Jason discovers circumstantial evidence on their first night together that Ellie may be a prostitute.
Concerned that Ellie will ask for money, Jason flees her apartment while she sleeps. The next day, Jason and Daniel pitch a book cover to an author, who happens to be Ellie.
There are many dialogue-driven scenes of the three sharing their hookup 'principles' that, in some ways, it feels like a male version of Sex and the City. It delivers some good lines, but many times may create confusion over whether the men want the same things in a relationship like those of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends.
The movie offers the great idea of putting the men at the center of a romantic drama, but it left much to do to create signature styles, such as about what brokenhearted men do.
When Jason and Mikey sit on their couch and finish a quart of ice cream and a bottle whiskey to drown their sorrows, it may remind some of many romance movies, where a female character cries and eats a large portion of ice cream or chocolate in front of the television after a date goes wrong.
For moviegoers familiar with 20-something romantic fluff, the plotline of Are We Officially Dating? is easy to predict. Its dull and formulaic ending is the lowest point of the movie, written and directed by Tom Gormican in his directorial debut.
While the story is uninspiring, three main cast members command the screen and display convincing bromance chemistry.
Efron, who also produced the film, shows off his abs in several scenes. While some moviegoers may dislike the scenes, at least they won Efron the Best Shirtless Performance in the 2014 MTV Movie Awards, which is the sole accolade the film has achieved so far.
Are We Officially Dating? promises a fresh idea of the male perspective of romance that, unfortunately, was executed poorly. Its dull storyline, cliché ending and contrived version of Sex and the City kind of dialogue overshadow its charming cast. Ultimately, the film may only attract fans of Zac Efron and moviegoers who don't expect much from a date movie.
