Image: Treehouse Pictures

That Awkward Moment describes the point in a relationship when one party asks ‘so… where is this going?’ It’s the point when the couple either move forward, or move on. This film tells the story of three friends, Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller) and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) vowing to stay single for as long as possible after one of them goes through a bad breakup. Of course, once they’ve made that vow hilarity inevitably ensues as they each find themselves a girl who they could potentially fall for, and struggle to keep it a secret from the other two.

This film succeeds quite impressively in making men looking like completely untrustworthy idiots, but to its credit it does acknowledge that fact multiple times, and it is, surprisingly, genuinely, funny. It’s at its best when the three friends are together; swearing is rife, the teasing is constant and their relationship accurately depicts what it’s like to be a twenty-something, whether just trying to have fun or struggling to figure out whether or not they have ticked all the boxes they should have at this point in their lives.

It is predictable to a certain extent, but what buddy move cum romcom isn’t? There’s the obligatory revelation where all the secrets come to light, and the Jerry Maguire ‘you complete me speech’ is pretty weak, but the plot here isn’t really that important. The character interactions are the strongest element, offering the most laughs and showing both Teller and Efron to have some good comic timing. Most importantly it’s enjoyable and funny, particularly at the moment when awards season has flooded us with films full of strong characters and dense plots, but few laughs. Once in a while it’s nice to have some mindless fun and enjoyment.

Beth Galey