GETAWAY LACKS FIZZ
VACATION FRIENDS IS NO COMEDY CLASSIC – BUT IT STILL PROVIDES A FEW DECENT LAUGHS
If what happened in Mexico had stayed in Mexico, this raucous couples comedy would have run out of gas at the end of the first act. And that’s Vacation Friends in a nutshell. Marcus (Lil Rel Howery) is the tightly wound owner of a booming Chicago construction company.
His fiancé, Emily (Yvonne Orji), remains under the thumb of her controlling father, despite a successful career in the finance industry.
This ultra-responsible, upwardly mobile couple’s dream holiday takes a strange and unexpected turn when they arrive at the luxury resort to discover their room has been rendered uninhabitable by some fellow guests.
Wild, uninhibited, spontaneous ... Ron (John Cena) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner) are everything Marcus and Emily are not. But since it’s their over-enthusiastic activities in the upstairs jacuzzi that have derailed Marcus and Emily’s plans, they generously invite the strait-laced couple to join them in the Presidential Suite.
Under the influence of these big-hearted, hardpartying thrill seekers, Marcus and Emily begin to lighten up a little – and then a lot.
Over the course of the next seven days, this unlikely foursome manages to sink a catamaran, initiate a helicopter rescue-at-sea, and even partake in an ancient shaman ceremony while simultaneously ingesting large quantities of illicit substances – some accidentally.
Somewhere between the late-night shot sessions and a William Tell-style close shave, a holiday bromance develops.
The two women also become extremely close. But on the morning of their departure, Marcus and Emily, both of whom are nursing brutal hangovers, come to an unspoken agreement, which involves a strict compartmentalisation of the activities of the previous week. At the airport, they say what they believe to be their final goodbyes to these holiday acquaintances.
Returning to the real world, they are railroaded into a stifling society wedding over which they have little control. Emily’s dad (Robert Wisdom) openly disapproves of Marcus because of his bluecollar roots. The lead-up to big event is fraught even before Ron and Kyla’s unexpected arrival.
There’s nothing particularly original about this broad slapstick comedy, pacily directed by Silicone Valley’s Clay Tarver, but the actors embrace their roles with such good-humoured gusto, it’s easy to go along for the ride.
Vacation Friends is hardly a comedy classic, but it does offer an undemanding night’s entertainment and a few good chuckles.
Now streaming on Disney+ as a Star original