Everyone has shared an awkward moment at one time or another, but director Tom Gormican takes it to a whole other level in his film “That Awkward Moment.”  

Gormican started as a director with the blundering failure “Movie 43” and those of you who missed it, consider yourselves lucky. “Movie 43” was a chaotic mess of raunchiness, over sexualized prompts and jokes just to get a laugh.

Thankfully, “That Awkward Moment” relies more on acting ability than chaotic mess.

“High School Musical” honoree Zac Efron, up and coming fresh-faced talent Miles Teller and newcomer Michael B. Jordan make up the cast of this less than awkward film. Three best friends, Jason (Efron), Daniel (Teller) and Mikey (Jordan) vow to remain single to help each other out after learning that Mikey’s wife cheated. Obstacles are thrown in their way, such as Efron’s love interest Ellie, played by newcomer Imogen Poots. The romance scenes are sprinkled throughout the film showcased the strong chemistry between Efron and Poots. 

Teller’s love interest, played by Mackenzie Davis, proved to be more likeable than Poots, as her presence alone held the film together.  Jordan’s love interest, played by Jessica Lucas, at times faded into the background. 

Although sometimes dull, the scenes between Jordan and Lucas felt the most realistic. Maybe that is why I found them so dreary, because they were realistic, and I, as many others enjoy a good farfetched romance.

The scenes between the three best friends stole the film, as their “bromance” flourished as the ideal relationship. The sexual jokes and humorous one-liners continued to appear, and of course foul language populated the majority of the film. The partial nudity scene of both Efron and Teller was one not to be missed.  The toned body of Efron captivated the audience while Teller’s just left them cold. The scene where Efron is dressed for a party and realizes he is underdressed is probably the most humorous of them all.

If you saw the trailer, you probably assumed this film would just be a raunchy, fun comedy, but that is when the “awkward moment” sinks in. This film was not entirely funny, nor was it entirely romantic. Less than half of the film is filled with lighthearted laughs, and more than half is filled with dramatic moments of insight. For instance, the main character Jason is infatuated with himself, but he begins to evolve emotionally with the introduction of Ellie.

There are times where he struggles with identifying his emotions, whether for Ellie or even his friends. Those struggles gave the film definition and depth. Those dramatic moments of insight gave the audience more to appreciate, and even more so, gave the film a hopeful ending.

In the beginning, this film seemed like a raunchy mess of sexual jokes and over the top lines, but it proved otherwise. Sure, there were times I thought to myself, “Wow this is awkward,” but I could not look away.

The actors’ likeability played a crucial role in the film, but their ability played an even bigger one. The dramatic scenes of struggling with emotions really hit home. Maybe the “awkward moment” is when viewers realize the film did not seem like it had potential, but it really did.

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