That Awkward Moment

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"That Awkward Moment" official still photo - source: imdb.com

“If you’re single, we’re staying single with you, man.” –Jason (That Awkward Moment, 2014)

“Every relationship arrives at a critical moment, a juncture, between moving forward and moving on. I call that moment the ‘so’.” –Jason (That Awkward Moment, 2014)

“You weren’t there for me, on a day when I really, really needed you. And being there for someone when they need you, that’s all relationships are.” –Ellie (That Awkward Moment, 2014)

Title              : That Awkward Moment
Director         : Tom Gormican
Starring         : Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, Jessica Lucas
Genre            : romance, comedy
Distributor     : Focus Features
Release date  : 31 January 2014
Running time  : 94 minutes

"That Awkward Moment" movie poster - source: imdb.com

What’s friends are for? One thing that I’m really grateful for my life so far, among so many grateful things that have happened, is that I was growing up with the greatest friends ever, and I’m still having them around me even now. Well, of course, as time went by, some of them were going in distance, out of town for working, or making family, or studying abroad. Yet I’m so grateful that I was having them at the right time and place. Childhood, adolescence, college; friends are the family you choose. People say that lovers come and go, but friends are always there. Well, that’s true at some points. And I’ve been there done that. They stay with you when you’re down, when you’re devastated by a broken heart, when you’re wrecked by a break up. They give you faith when it feels like there’s nothing left to believe in this world. They comfort you with the way that nobody else could. They give back your laughter when it feels like there’s nothing left to be laughed off in this world. And the greatest is, they help you find who you truly are; stand by you during highs and lows, give suggestions without judging, point out those negative sides of you, not to insult, but only to make you realize that you could be a better person.
There’s nothing you could hide from your friends, at least those closest ones; ones they called bestfriends. They would notice right away if there’s something different with you, especially when it comes to the love life. Love life and relationship are quite a sensitive issue in a friendship, whether it’s all-females or all-males friendship. People say that a great match is someone who can blend with your friends. Believe it or not, your bestfriends could sense whether someone is belong with you or not. In a friendship at some times, the love life things could trigger a friction between friends. But you know, friends are friends. They only want the best for you though sometimes they do it in a very blunt way. They only want to open up your heart and mind though sometimes they do it in a sarcastic way. Instead of helping you to hide your lacks, good friends will tell you how to fix it. Instead of helping you to run away from your fears, good friends will tell you how to fight it. But in the end, they will be the people who are there for you, even when your world crumbles apart. Realize it or not, we learn about relationship from our own friendship. Honesty, loyalty. To tell you the ugly truth when everybody else tells you the white lie, to be there when you need the most, that’s what friends are for.

"That Awkward Moment" official still photo - source: imdb.com

Talking about friendship and the love life in between, there’s this 2014 romance comedy movie titled “That Awkward Moment”. It’s about three bestfriends in search for the meaning of love and relationship. They are Mikey (portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), who doesn’t know how to be single, Daniel (portrayed by Miles Teller) who is headed out of the friend zone, and Jason (portrayed by Zac Efron) who is just trying to stay single. The story begins when Mikey, who’s the only married man among the three, tells Jason and Daniel that he’s getting a divorce, because his wife, Vera (Jessica Lucas), is having affair with a lawyer. Jason and Daniel quickly figures out that it’s not about whether Mikey is less better person than the other man, because Mikey himself is a doctor. In order to cheer him up, Jason and Daniel take Mikey to the night club they regularly visit. That night, Jason meets Ellie (Imogen Poots) for the first time. The two find a click with each other and spend the night together, but Jason freaks out in the morning because he thinks that Ellie is a hooker. Yet he finds out soon that he was wrong.
When Jason is trying to make it up for Ellie, Vera meets Mikey again at the hospital. The two reconcile, but Mikey decides to hide that fact from Jason and Daniel, because the day before when Mikey was devastated, the three were making promise to stay single together. Meanwhile, with Jason and Mikey are occupied with Ellie and Vera, Daniel spends most of his spare time with Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis), his bestfriend, and also Jason’s bestfriend, and also Mikey’s bestfriend. However, Chelsea is a wingman for Daniel, as she always helps him to get the girl when Jason doesn’t need help at all and Mikey doesn’t want any help, no, he doesn’t want any other girl than Vera. As Daniel and Chelsea spend their time together, they slowly begin to develop a relationship, more than just a friend. And of course, Daniel hides this fact from Jason and Mikey. On the other hand, Jason finds himself falling for Ellie, which freaking him out even more. Though he tries to hide the fact, Daniel and Mikey could see clearly what happens with their bestfriend. After all, how those complications affect their friendship? And how it will end up?

"That Awkward Moment" official still photo - source: imdb.com

Though “That Awkward Moment” received generally negative review from critics for its plot, they point out about having the brilliant cast. And indeed, this movie stood out for that. Where else we can find Zac Efron, Miles Teller, and Michael B. Jordan all together? They successfully brought Jason, Daniel, and Mikey into life perfectly. With their natural performances, they made us believe that they’ve been bestfriends for years. What a well-played both in friendship teamwork and individually. Efron as the cassanova-kind-of-a-man who’s very aware that he’s handsome but doesn’t have any intention to be in a relationship. Teller as the firecracker-kind-of-a-man who just likes to have fun but always ready to settle when he finds the right woman. Jordan as the husband-material-kind-of-a-man who devotes himself and fights for one woman only but willingly to let go when the woman lets go of him first. Everyone just fell into the right character.
The script of “That Awkward Moment” was featured as one of the top comedy screenplays in the 2010 Hollywood Black List of Best Un-produced Screenplays. And yup yup yup, I could feel that. It has a simple storyline yet brings meaningful messages within. First things first, it’s about friendship. Bestfriends are basically our soulmates, our sisters and brothers from different mother. So when things get bad, we can always find a way to make it up again, somehow. Because, you know, bestfriends are like a home we always can come back to. We could see that clearly from the friendship that Jason, Daniel, and Mikey have together. They are there to reflect towards one another, and even though the road to get there is rough, they always find out in the end that they only do and say things to make a better person of one another.
Besides Jason-Daniel-Mikey as a unit of friendship, we could also learn from them individually. From Mikey, it’s about trying to make things work. When you really love someone, and you’re in a serious relationship with that person, then it makes sense if you try your best to make it works when things are getting bad. Though at some points, not everything can be fixed in the end, at least you’ve tried. And there’s nothing to lose for people who keep fighting until the end. From Daniel, it’s about being ashamed of dating your own bestfriend. Well, there’s nothing wrong about falling in love with your own bestfriend, right? Instead, it makes very sense. When you really love someone, and you want to be in a serious relationship with that person, then don’t be ashamed. Love is all about expression. Though it may seems awkward at the beginning, good friends will support you in the end. And also, about hiding things from your bestfriends. Like I’ve mentioned before; there’s nothing you could hide from your bestfriends.

"That Awkward Moment" official still photo - source: imdb.com

Jason, Daniel, and Mikey were hiding things from each other, about the love life, mainly because of their fears, fears of admitting something. In Mikey’s case, it’s the fact the he can’t move on from his ex-wife. In Daniel’s case, it’s the fact that he’s in a relationship with their own bestfriend. In Jason’s case, it’s the fact that he’s finally falling in love, for real. From Jason’s point of view, it’s about the fear of having a commitment, about the fear of falling in love. Admit it, in a bunch of a bestfriends flock, there’s always this someone like Jason. Well, in my flock, I have one, or maybe even more than just one. And maybe, me myself is one of them. In my defense, it’s not that we’re afraid of having commit in a relationship, but it’s more about haven’t meet the right person yet. Well, at some points, I admit, that people like us aren’t afraid of the idea of a relationship itself, but what we’re afraid of is the idea of opening up our hearts to somebody. Well yeah, kind of like that. For people like us, it takes some times and so many people before we finally feel right about a certain someone. But when that time comes, we fall hard and for good.
“That Awkward Moment” original work was actually titled “Are We Officially Dating?”, and it was released in New Zealand and Australia under the original title. The movie was premiered in Los Angeles on January 27th 2014, and then followed by the release on January 31st 2014. Perhaps you’ve already discovered, but I will say it; I won’t review a movie unless I don’t feel related to the story or the character. Well in this case, I feel so related with the Jason character. And yeah, with the backbone story too, yes, friendship. That’s why I choose this movie as the third movie for My Choices: Continue Living. Watching Jason in this movie feels like watching the reflection of my own self. I used to jump from one man to another, like a lost girl who doesn’t know what she wants or what she needs. That was then, before I understand completely that all I need now is to settle. The thing is, I just haven’t met that person yet. Well, there’s always a time for everything, right? And I believe, I will find my Ellie too, someday, when the time is right.


“He wasn’t afraid because he thought she wasn’t the one. He was absolutely terrified because he knew she was.” –Jason (That Awkward Moment, 2014)

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