From "Superbad" to "21 Jump Street," we've seen them all. The new year brings the opportunity for Hollywood to mass-produce the cookie-cutter "bro film" in full force. Unlike other genres, these comedies have not evolved and have peaked.
Recent powerful titles include the highly acclaimed Spike Jonze film "Her" and John Wells' "August: Osage County." These films boast award-winning actors and unique story lines. Why have so few people heard of them?
Instead, my peers have heard of the new Tom Gormican movie "That Awkward Moment." The greatest selling point of "That Awkward Moment" is that it boasts Zac Efron as the lead. Not only is the title of the film annoying, but just about everything from the previews lets me know that it would be a waste of everyone's time and money to see it.
Now, back to the title. First of all, this movie is very clearly named after a trend that grew from Facebook statuses and tweets. Pathetic.
Are we so lacking in creativity that we can't even come up with a title that makes sense for the film? This one doesn't even allude to what could possibly be happening in the plot.
It's strictly a trendy name – an outdated trend at that. What's worse is that the movie's main form of advertisement, its Twitter page, is a homage to the aforementioned dead trend.
My main issue with the title of the film and the use of the phrase "that awkward moment when..." is that the moment is rarely "awkward" but more often "uncomfortable."
These two words are not interchangeable but because of misuse are now confused for each other. Every time I see the word awkward used improperly, I cringe.
As far as the cast goes, there is no one even remarkably notable. Don't even try to convince me that Zac Efron is a noteworthy actor. His résumé boasts roles in lackluster films ranging from middle school favorite "High School Musical" to his first half-hearted attempt at comedy, "17 Again."
If you can find that outside of a $5 movie bin at your local Walmart, I assure you that you're being overcharged. Luckily for the director of "That Awkward Moment," Efron is one of those guys whom people love to ogle, and he will definitely draw a large female crowd.
I'm convinced that's the only reason he was cast. Oh, not to mention his recent stint in rehab, which put him back on Hollywood's radar. How trendy. The rest of the cast is full of names I haven't even heard, apart from Miles Teller, whom I haven't seen since the hit party production "Project X." I guess he's still acting after all. The only silver lining I can spot from this nightmare is that we won't have to sit through another two hours of Jonah Hill or Seth Rogen making offensive jokes that lack any true wit or substance. Talk about awkward. Reach the columnist at mikayrod@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @mikayrodr
