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 The movie, due to open in U.S. theaters on Friday, follows
the lives and loves of best friends, 20-something men in the big
city trying to remain emotionally unattached as they maneuver
the tricky terrain of jobs and relationships.
"This is the first look, I think, of what it is like to be a guy
dating at our age and what it's like to be out there," said
Efron, 26, who is also an executive producer on the film.
"Sometimes it takes your best friends to get through it," added
the star, who shot to fame in the Disney "High School Musical"
TV movies and more recently starred in the historical drama
"Parkland" and the thriller "The Paperboy."
In "That Awkward Moment," Efron plays confident, carefree Jason,
who likes to hang out with his friends and does his best to
avoid commitment.
Miles Teller, 26, who starred in last year's Sundance hit "The
Spectacular Now" and this year's film festival favorite
"Whiplash," is Jason's best buddy, the funny, affable Daniel.
And Michael B. Jordan, a 2013 National Board of Review
breakthrough performance winner for his role in critically
acclaimed drama "Fruitvale Station," plays the more mature Mikey
in his first comedic role on the big screen.
"I was looking for a change of pace. A lot of people know my
work from more dramatic, serious roles," said Jordan, 26.
When Mikey's marriage breaks up, he turns to his two best
friends for solace. They guide him back into the unfamiliar
dating scene and make a pact to stay single — while all he wants
is to patch things up with his estranged wife.
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 "We walk a careful balance between being good guys deep down
and caring and ... waking up the next day and feeling sort of
guilty for our commitment issues," said Efron.
"At the same time, we have to live our lives."
INTO THE MAN CAVE
Romantic comedies are a favorite type of film for writer-director
Tom Gormican, who tried to revitalize the genre with "That Awkward
Moment."
"I also wanted to put a different spin on it and have the movie take
place from a guy's perspective because I felt that is something we
haven't seen before," he explained.
The R-rated film tries to give women a peek into the man cave,
showing how young men relate to each other. It shows their sometimes
raunchy behavior, how they mask the vulnerability and insecurity
they feel about relationships and dating — and some of the terrible
decisions they make along the way.
"For guys, it is my hope that they would actually see something from
their own lives and relationships in it," said Gormican.
"We're all in our mid-20s. We're going through the process. We're at
the stage in our lives where we're growing and maturing," said
Jordan. "We're figuring it out but nobody has a blueprint of how to
grow up."
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing
by Piya Sinha-Roy and Jonathan Oatis)
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