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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Vacation Friends is a movie that came out of nowhere, although I’m sort of glad that I got to see it.
Tom Mullen, Tim Mullen, Clay Tarver, Jonathan M. Goldstein, and John Francis Daley serve as the writers of this buddy comedy film, while Tarver also sits in the director’s chair. This review will not include spoilers, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion.
Plot Summary
According to Hulu, here is the synopsis for the film.
In this raw and raunchy comedy, strait-laced Marcus and Emily (Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji) are befriended by wild, thrill-seeking partiers Ron and Kyla (John Cena, Meredith Hagner) at a resort in Mexico. Living in the moment, the usually level-headed couple lets loose to enjoy a week of uninhibited fun and debauchery with their new “vacation friends.” Months after their walk on the wild side, Marcus and Emily are horrified when Ron and Kyla show up uninvited at their wedding, creating chaos and proving that what happens on vacation, doesn’t necessarily stay on vacation.
Robert Wisdom and Lynn Whitfield play Harold “Harry” Conway and his wife, Suzanne, respectively. Meanwhile, Chuck Cooper and Anna Maria Horsford play Marcus’s parents, Larry and Nancy Parker. Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor plays Emily’s brother, Gabe, while Kamal Bolden plays his friend, Bennet.
Denise Burse plays Emily’s Grandma Phyllis. Hugh Moore, Cristian Gonzalez, and T. Love play Zeke, Enzo, Fred, workers at Marcus’s construction business. Carlos Santos plays hotel manager, Maurilio, while Luis Antonio plays the Mayan Shaman that marries Marcus and Emily.
Credits to the Crew of Vacation Friends
Todd Garner (Mortal Kombat) and Timothy M. Bourne act as the producers of the film, while Steve Pink and Sean Robins serve as its executive producers.
Tim Suhrstedt is the film’s director of photography, while Evan Henke serves as the editor. Rolfe Kent act as the musical composer. Aaron Osbourne is the production designer, while Salvador Perez serves as costume designer.
Jeanne McCarthy and Nicole Abellera Hallman are the casting directors for the film.
Discussion
Vacation Friends is an extremely unusual comedy film. With that said, it does an acceptable job at being one, to say the least. My reason for saying this is because one doesn’t just arbitrarily befriend other people this way. Thus, I could understand why Howery’s character, Marcus, reacts to Cena and Hagner’s Ron and Kyla the way he does. With the writers’ help, what looks like a cliche of “annoying friend(s) turn into the best-est of friends” becomes a story worth watching. In fact, the writers are also able to succeed at passing the Bechdel Test.
The writing, the cinematography, and the editing may be a little wonky from time to time. However, it’s not all that bad. The plot progresses quickly, with the “vacation” part lasting one-quarter to one-third of the film. This leaves an hour or so of the wedding to take place and at a good enough pace. There is some writing in and of the film itself that I find rather unbelievable. For example, we have Ron fulfilling a couple of tasks for Marcus that can never happen in real life. When you see it, you will know that these are wild instances and can only happen in a movie. Other than that, there is nothing present here to absolutely flat-out abhor about the film.
I will say that the biggest highlight of Vacation Friends is its four main cast members.
Performances and Character Developments
Howery and Orji’s characters are painted out to be the bad guys of the narrative who paint out Cena and Hagner’s as the bad guys of their narrative. Of course, it’s required of the story.
Where Howery makes more solutions as Rod Williams the TSA Agent in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, his character in Vacation Friends causes more problems. I would understand that Marcus doesn’t like the other couple all that much. Although, there should have been a point where he is more accepting of his newfound friends. Perhaps this is due to the relationship that he has with his soon-to-be father-in-law. Meanwhile, we have Orji, whose vulgarity in this film is a little toned down from what we see when she plays Molly Carter in HBO’s Insecure. In my opinion, Emily doesn’t get as much time to shine as Marcus does, and I’d love to see more of her side of the story.
Following his appearances in F9 and The Suicide Squad, this is the third film I am seeing John Cena star in this summer. I thought I would be tired of him by now, but I was wrong. He is a sight to see on-screen. Perhaps he may not deliver as strong a performance as he did in TSS. However, he does have more screentime than in F9, and he does have a purpose in this Hulu film.
I loved seeing Hagner in Brightburn and in Palm Springs. Although, this is my first time seeing her play the main character in a film to even notice her. I liked the major reveal with her and Cena’s characters at the end of the film, and it’s something I did not expect to have happened.
Final Thoughts
Vacation Friends features the indulgence of drugs and alcohol is are only part of the characters’ troubles. It has all the tropes and elements that most comedy films have but still possesses some goodness. If it weren’t for its main cast members and their performances, it would have fallen apart as a movie.
Vacation Friends is available to watch on Hulu!
Have you seen this film yet? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Let us know! For more comedy-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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