THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER
PG ★★
In cinemas and on Apple TV+ now
Director Peter Farrelly follows his Oscar-winning Green Book with another true-life tale of a revelatory road trip.
Zac Efron plays merchant seaman John “Chickie” Donohue who makes a brash, booze-fuelled promise while drinking in a New York bar.
To show his support for the Vietnam war, he vows to stuff a bag with “American beer”, hop on the next supply ship to Saigon, track down the servicemen from his neighbourhood and crack open a few comforting cans.
His journey sees him briefly team up with Russell Crowe’s photojournalist, witness atrocities and question the foundations of his unthinking patriotism.
There’s a smattering of funny lines but, this time, Farrelly fails to tie together the competing tones of humour and the horror of war, or to add fresh perspectives to the conflict.