With a weak script and a very unremarkable plot, Vacation friends follows the trend of R-rated comedies that rely too much on generic material to succeed.
Directed by Clay Tarver, the film follows a couple, Marcus (Lil Rey Howery) and Emily (Yvonne Orjic) on vacation to Mexico. They meet the crazy duo Ron (John Cena) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner) who have a fondness for them for no reason and turn their peaceful existence into an endless series of accidents and bizarre experiences.
I think whoever wrote the screenplay must have thought, ‘Let me write a script about a white couple who frustrates the hell of a black couple. And along the way they both learn valuable lessons and everyone is happy when the film is over.’
The above pretty much sums up the film. Add in the totally unnecessary hardcore humor (consisting of some of the worst jokes ever told on screen and the cheesiest one-liners) and let everyone paint themselves as buffoons, and there you have it. Vacation friends is real.
The story is full of unrealistic and silly elements that I won’t go into because for the most part it was painful to watch.
The acting is terrible, the countless attempts at crude humor pass out and all the characters are total assholes that make you not care about them.
Although John Cena gets the top bill, Lil Rey Howery is the protagonist of this story. Unfortunately, he lacks what it takes to be the main character and is overshadowed by almost everyone. His appearance as a supporting character in Paternity worked, but here he is sidelined.
Cena (who has shown some promise in the comedy genre) is completely ridiculing herself here, and that’s not even the worst of it. The worst part is that his portrayal of what should be a funny character isn’t even funny. I give him credit for trying, but I think the totally crazy script is to blame for his hollow execution.
Also, there’s no chemistry between the two couples (Yvonne Orji comes across as stiff almost the entire movie time), and Meredith Hagner’s character has to be the most annoying thing in this movie).
I wanted so badly Vacation friends but almost everything about the movie is wrong. If, as a movie fan, you end up sitting straight through a comedy for the entire movie, then whoever worked on that movie didn’t achieve the desired effect.
This was a wasted effort made worse by poor execution.
Rating: 4/10.
