As distribution models continue to shift thanks to COVID, we are continuing to see major studio releases get shifted over to premiere online. That has been the case with Clay Tarver’s outrageously raucous new film “Vacation Friends” as it shifted to Hulu where it premieres today.
It’s safe to assume that most people have met others while they were traveling who made the trip more enjoyable, but just because you connect away from home doesn’t mean that they would become your close friends in the “real world.”
Lil Rel Howery (“Get Out”) and Yvonne Orji (“Insecure”) star as Marcus and Emily, a straightlaced couple from Chicago who head to Mexico for a five star getaway.
Things go awry from the moment they arrive when a planned wedding proposal from Marcus is ruined by their guest suite being destroyed.
Enter Ron (John Cena) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner). They’re polar opposites of Marcus and Emily in every way, but wacky circumstances keep pushing the couples together and they slowly begin to bond. What follows is wild debauchery for a solid week. Countless shots, margaritas, and a fair amount of drugs are consumed (early on Marcus notes that they’re the only people he has ever known to smuggle drugs in to Mexico).
After the madness fades, Marcus and Emily head home to plan their wedding. We flash forward about seven months. Despite heavily interference from her parents, it looks like the wedding is about to be a magical event. Ron and Kyla return by literally gatecrashing the party, driving their vehicle through the fence line and wrecking pure havoc on the festivities.
“Vacation Friends” is absolutely ridiculous and produces a fair amount of laugh-out-loud moments as long as you aren’t too easily offended.
The cast really shines and makes this a trip worth taking. Howery and Orji play hysterically exasperated partners who truly love each other but are too slow to break out of their shells while Cena and Hagner don’t just walk up to the line of hilarity, they vault over it and spend most of the film’s admittedly bloated running time with their characters turned up to 11.
Nothing about this should work, but it’s simply good dumb summertime fun. Sometimes that’s good enough.
“Vacation Friends” is streaming now, exclusively on Hulu.
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