That Awkward Moment (2014); And Talking Bout My Generation

That awkward moment, when you spend your time devising plans centered around improving human life only to watch That Awkward Moment then conclude there’s no hope for us at all. That Awkward Moment is a film that’s an open window into the values of young adults in our current society. The millennial generation’s ideas on love and dating is on full display revealing how it has become a game of hooking up and one night stands. Today’s dating culture has encountered a generational break down. On the positive side, this can be seen as a testament of self-identification and a revolt against the status quo, however, this is also a rejection of giving oneself over to another for self-improvement, education and the fruits of experiencing love and affection. These days, in an effort to deny themselves feelings of heartbreak, people are telling themselves that keeping an emotional distance in a physical relationship is ideal. Bros before hoes, chicks before dicks. If you find someone you connect with just string them along and keep them at distance. Life’s too short to get tied down.

Michael (Michael B. Jordan) is a married doctor that is soon blindsided when his wife reveals that not only does she want a divorce, but she’s been banging a Morris Chestnut looking dude for some time now. Michael is devastated, but his heartbreak is only the catalyst for an adventure through budding love for his two best friends, Daniel (Miles Teller) and Jason (Zac Efron). At first, his buds stand by his side. Bros before hoes! In an effort to heal Michael’s pain, but more an excuse to validate their egocentric sexism, Daniel and Jason swear off relationships and only embrace the hookup life. But, the one successful thing Tom Gormican’s semi-ode to bromance does is tsk at the notion of denying oneself emotional connection with another.

Unfortunately, Jason and Daniel are such cartoonish assholes through the entirety of the film that by the time they reach their evolution I couldn’t have cared less. That Awkward Moment is aware of how dickish these men are. In fact, Michael constantly comments on how much of an idiot Jason is for his rationality on women and life. However, being aware of the shitty nature of your characters doesn’t make them any less shitty. Women on the other hand definitely receive careful attention to their presence and how “cool” they are (e.g., interested in video games, drinking liquor with the boys, acting as wingman to a dude), but little attention is given to their intellect. Conversation between men and women in That Awkward Moment is pretty arid once basic icebreaker topics and quips are exchanged.

The women are paper thin characters possessing as little rationale and intelligence as the men. The women are inconsistent being easily won over by these men for no other reason than that these men are attracted to them. Watching That Awkward Moment is beyond frustrating because we are confronted with the very real reality of people who make irrational decisions and play with the emotions of other human beings with little regard for their actions. I couldn’t completely discredit That Awkward Moment, though it is banausic and only mildly funny, because of its representation of a current culture of young, affluent, single twentysomethings in urban America. It’s a pretty rough time in the dating world for millennials, but as That Awkward Moment shows, it’s all our faults.

AVOID IT. Watch “Girls” for deeper, albeit more frustrating, look at the millennial era.