'Vacation Friends (2021)' is a surprisingly good, if by-the-numbers, comedy starring Lil Rel Howery, John Cena, Yvonne Orji and Meredith Hagner. It focuses on a couple who go to Mexico for a high-calibre holiday and get engaged in the lobby because their expensive, decked-out suite has flooded due to the upstairs neighbours overfilling their hot tub. Those neighbours learn of the situation and offer to host the couple for the duration of their holiday, working their way into their lives and pretty much forcing their care-free attitude upon them. The first half of the flick is, essentially, just a series of skits showing the four new friends partying hard and getting to know one another. The second then takes things back stateside and reunites the foursome at the engaged couple's fancy, country club wedding, where the vacation friends' previously mentioned care-free attitude causes some tension with the rather conservative and judgemental family members in attendance. The flick is entertaining enough for what it is. It hits every beat you expect it to, but its cast are likeable enough that you don't really mind how predictable it is. It's usually enjoyable just to watch the focal foursome interact with one another; the affair is always rather affable. It isn't hilarious, but it has its fair share of humorous moments and does provoke laughter on a few occasions. It isn't great, but it's good enough. Though it's not something you'll likely remember for very long, it's a relatively fun and lighthearted way to pass an evening. 6/10.
Review of Vacation Friends
Vacation Friends
(2021)
Like a holiday you know you enjoyed but can't really remember.
11 September 2021