Tom Gormican’s directorial debut is an R-rated, raucous, American romantic comedy set in NYC.  “That Awkward Moment” is also written by Gormican. A great cast including heartthrob Zac Efron, break out new stars Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now) and Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) and Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis and Jessica Lucas will save the movie.

When Mikey (Miles B. Jordan) finds out his wife wants a divorce, his friends Jason (Zac Efron) and Daniel (Miles Teller) rally to his side to help him experience life as a new singleton. To seal the deal, Jason and Daniel both vow to remain free agents, to recapture the camaraderie they lost. But what happens if the right girl actually does come along in the middle of this bro love in?

Obviously it all goes wrong.

Efron makes the break from his teen idol days as the emotionally stunted, unlikable, unhealthy, unstable, sleazy charmer who knows entirely too much about Viagra and hipster prostitutes. The real meat of the story, however, is the conflict between Mikey and his wife Vera (Jessica Lucas) who married too young and have now fallen out of love, an inevitability hastened by their fruitless attempts to make it work. That’s a good movie on its own, and gives a real emotional weight to the story. Mikey is trying too hard to be a grown-up, while Jason is trying too hard not to. In the middle you have Daniel, who may be falling in love with his wingwoman, Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) and isn’t sure about how to broach the subject, and Ellie (Imogen Poots), who is tempting Jason into something more serious than he is used to.

It’s not going to set the world aflame, but it’s an enjoyable romp if you’re into that kind of thing.

– Donal O’Connor